by
Louise Perny (d. 1918), as Pierre Reyniel
Chanson naïve
Language: French (Français)
La petite chanson triste
Qu’elle chantait autrefois,
Dans ma mémoire persiste,
Je la fredonne à mi voix.
La petite chanson tendre
Que nous aimions les deux,
M’évoque encore, à l’entendre,
Nos beaux rêves hasardeux.
La petite chanson frêle,
Sa voix ne la dira plus;
Je n’ai pas veillé sur elle,
Nos bonheurs sont révolus !
La petite chanson douce
Qui m’a fait pleurer souvent,
Tout la murmure : la mousse,
L’eau, les arbres et le vent.
La petite chanson grave
Sanglote au fond du soir las,
Et je souffre un mal suave,
Suave comme l’odeur des lilas.
La petite chanson tremble
Et s’éloigne et va mourir …
Pourquoi n’être plus ensemble,
Au moins pour la secourir.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Melissa Givens) (Kathleen Comalli Dillon) , "Simple song", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Dr Melissa Givens
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2017-07-30
Line count: 24
Word count: 114
Simple song
Language: English after the French (Français)
The sad little song
That she used to sing
Lingers in my memory;
I hum it in half-voice.
The tender little song
That we both loved
Brings back to me, when I hear it,
Our beautiful careless dreams.
The fragile little song
Her voice won’t sing again;
I didn’t watch over it; our joys,
Our joys have passed!
The sweet little song
That often made me cry
Is murmured by all: the mosses,
The water, the trees, the wind.
The serious little song weeps
In the basin of the unfettered evening
And I suffer from a subtle sickness,
Subtle as the odor of lilacs
The little song trembles,
Moves away and goes to die...
Because we can’t be together again,
Not even to save it.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2020 by Dr Melissa Givens and Kathleen Comalli Dillon, (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 Louise Perny (d. 1918), as Pierre Reyniel
This text was added to the website: 2020-07-11
Line count: 24
Word count: 125
