Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Je mettrai mes deux mains sur ma bouche, pour taire Ce que je voudrais tant vous dire, âme bien chère! Je mettrai mes deux mains sur mes yeux, pour cacher Ce que je voudrais tant que pourtant vous cherchiez. Je mettrai mes deux mains sur mon coeur, chère vie, Pour que vous ignoriez de quel coeur je vous prie! Et puis je les mettrai doucement dans vos mains, Ces deux mains-ci qui meurent d'un fatigant chagrin!... Elles iront à vous, pleines de leur faiblesse, Toutes silencieuses et même sans caresse, Lasses d'avoir porté tout le poids d'un secret Dont ma bouche, et mes yeux et mon front parleraient. Elles iront à vous, légères d’être vides, Et lourdes d’être tristes, tristes d’être timides; Malheureuses et douces et si découragées Que peut-être, mon Dieu, vous les recueillerez!...
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Jean Dominique, L'Anémone des Mers, Paris: Société du Mercure de France, 1906, pages 81-82.
Text Authorship:
- by Marie Closset (1873 - 1952), as Jean Dominique, no title, written 1904, appears in L'Anémone des Mers. Poèmes, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1906 [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 Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924), "Le don silencieux", op. 92 (1906), published 1906 [ medium voice and piano ], Éd. Heugel [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Gabriel Grovlez (1879 - 1944), "Le don silencieux", 1911, published 1912, first performed 1912 [ medium voice and piano ], from Trois mélodies sur des poèmes de Jean Dominique, no. 2, Paris, Édition Durand [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "El regal silenciós", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English [singable] (Peter Low) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Garrett Medlock) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 135
I will place my two hands over my mouth, to quiet What I would like so much to say to you, soul so beloved! I will place my two hands over my eyes, to hide What I desire so much that you still should seek. I will place my two hands on my heart, dear life, So that you do not know with what heart I implore you! And then I will place gently in your hands These two hands which are dying of a wearisome sorrow!... They will go to you, full of their weakness, All silent and even without a caress, Tired of having carried all the weight of a secret Of which my mouth and my eyes and my face would speak. They go to you, light in being empty, And heavy in being sad, sad in being shy; Unhappy and gentle and so discouraged That perhaps, my God, you will gather them up!...
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "Le don silencieux" = ""The silent giftText Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2018 by Garrett Medlock, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Marie Closset (1873 - 1952), as Jean Dominique, no title, written 1904, appears in L'Anémone des Mers. Poèmes, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1906
This text was added to the website: 2018-12-12
Line count: 16
Word count: 157