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Det smattrar prat och slår boll och skrattar
emellan träden vid Trianon,
små markisinnor i schäferhattar,
de le och gnola, lonlaridon.
Små markisinnor på höga klackar,
de leka oskuld och herdefest
för unga herdar med stela nackar,
vicomte Lindor, monseigneur Alceste.
Men så med ett
vid närmste stam
stack grovt och brett
ett huvud fram.
Vicomten skrek: "Voilà la tête-là!"
och monseigneur slog förbi sin boll
och "qu'est-ce que c'est?" och "qui est la bête là?"
det ljöd i korus från alla håll.
Och näsor rynkas förnämt koketta,
en hastig knyck i var nacke far
och markisinnor hoppa lätta
och bollen flyger från par till par.
Men tyst därifrån
med tunga fjät
går dräggens son
Jourdan Coupe-tête.
Text Authorship:
- by Gustaf Fröding (1860 - 1911), "Bollspelet vid Trianon", appears in Nya dikter, in Från när och fjärran, first published 1894 [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 Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957), "Bollspelet vid Trianon", op. 36 (Kuusi yksinlaulua pianon säestyksellä = 6 sånger (Six Songs)) no. 3 (1899) [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "Jeu de paume at Trianon", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Pallopeli Trianonissa", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Jeu de balle au Trianon", copyright © 2018, (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: 24
Word count: 117
There is prattling on and a game with a ball and laughter among the trees at Trianon, small marquises in shepherdess hats, smile and hum, “Lon laridon.” Small marquises in high heels, they play at innocence, and at herding young herdsmen with stiff necks, Viscount Lindor, Monseigneur Alceste. But all of a sudden from the nearest tree appeared, coarse and broad, a head sticking out from behind. The Viscount shouted: “Voilà la tête-là!” and Monseigneur swung and missed his ball and “Qu'est-ce que c’est?” and “Qui est la bête là?” were heard in chorus from all sides. And noses are wrinkled coquettishly, a hasty turn of the head and the marquises hop lightly and the ball flies from pair to pair. But silently, away from there, with heavy footsteps goes the peasant’s son Jourdan Headsman.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translator's notes:
Title: "Jeu de paume" refers to a French Renaissance ball game, played with the palm of the hand. By the 16th century, gloves were worn, and racquets were introduced in the 17th century. French aristocrats built hundreds of indoor and outdoor courts, with famous sites including the renovated Jeu de Paume in the Orangerie section of the Tuileries Garden in Paris.
Line 1-4: "Lon laridon" is the refrain of the French sailor's song “Dans mon chemin j’ai recontré”
Line 4-1: “Voilà la tête-là!” - French for “Look at that head!”
Line 4-3: “Qu'est-ce que c’est?” and “Qui est la bête là?” - French for "What is it?" and "What beast is that" respectively.
Line 6-3: "peasant" - "dräggens" means literally, “of the gutter” or “of the dregs”
Line 6-4: "Headsman" - Coupe-tête is French for the kind of excutioner who removes heads (as opposed to a hangman); a coup de tête is a head-butt.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Swedish (Svenska) to English copyright © 2018 by Laura 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in Swedish (Svenska) by Gustaf Fröding (1860 - 1911), "Bollspelet vid Trianon", appears in Nya dikter, in Från när och fjärran, first published 1894
This text was added to the website: 2018-12-15
Line count: 24
Word count: 135