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Que me fait toute la terre Inutile où tu n'as pas En marchant marqué ton pas Dans le sable ou la poussière! Il n'est de fleuve attendu Par ma soif qui s'y étanche Que l'eau qui sourd et s'épanche De la source où tu as bu; La seule fleur qui m'attire Est celle où je trouverai Le souvenir empourpré De ta bouche et de ton rire; Et, sous la courbe des cieux, La mer pour moi n'est immense Que parce qu'elle commence À la couleur de tes yeux.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Henri Francois-Joseph de Régnier (1864 - 1936), "Chanson", written 1903-05, appears in La sandale ailée, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1906 [author's text not yet checked 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 Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924), "Chanson", op. 94 (1906), published 1907 [ medium voice and piano ], Éd. Heugel [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jacques Guillaume de Sauville de la Presle (1888 - 1969), "Chanson", published 1927 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. Rouart, Lerolle [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz (1864 - 1955), "Que me fait toute la terre", published 1918 [ high voice and piano ], from Deux Chansons, no. 2, Paris, Éd. Maurice Senart (Salabert [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Laura Stanfield Prichard) , "Song", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 88
What use to me is the whole earth Where you haven’t left The mark of your footprint In the sand or the dust! There’s no river I await In order to quench my thirst Other than the water that wells up and pours itself out From the spring where you have drunk; The only flower which attracts me Is the one wher I’ll find The purpled memory Of your mouth and of your laughter; And, under the arc of the heavens, The sea for me is only immense Because it begins With the color of your eyes.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Stanfield Prichard, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Henri Francois-Joseph de Régnier (1864 - 1936), "Chanson", written 1903-05, appears in La sandale ailée, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1906
This text was added to the website: 2016-02-08
Line count: 16
Word count: 97