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by Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs

La rivière est presque à sec
Language: French (Français) 
La rivière est presque à sec ; 
les joncs flétris meurent dans la fange ; 
l'air brûle, et loin des berges creuses, 
un ruisseau clair coule sur les graviers.

C'est là que du matin au soir 
les petits enfants nus viennent jouer. 
Ils se baignent, pas plus haut que leurs mollets, 
tant la rivière est basse.

Mais ils marchent dans le courant, 
et glissent quelquefois sur les roches, 
et les petits garçons jettent de l'eau 
sur les petites filles qui rient.

Et quand une troupe de marchands qui passe, 
mène boire au fleuve les énormes boeufs blancs, 
ils croisent leurs mains derrière eux 
et regardent les grandes bêtes.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs, "Les petites enfants", appears in Les Chansons de Bilitis, in Bucoliques en Pamphylie, no. 17 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Jeanne Bernard (1895 - 1965), "Les petites enfants" [ voice and piano ], from Trois chansons de Bilitis, no. 1, Paris, Senart [sung text not yet checked]
  • by André-Marie Cuvelier , "Les petits enfants", 1933 [ high voice and piano ], from Chansons de Bilitis, 3ème recueil, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Georges Dandelot (1895 - 1975), "Les petits enfants", 1924, published 1929, first performed 1929 [ high voice and piano ], from Six Chansons de Bilitis, 1er recueil, no. 6, Paris, Éd. Max Eschig [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2014-06-11
Line count: 16
Word count: 106

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