Je peux, en sa présence,
Hélas! sans espérance,
Rêver de ma souffrance;
Mais, l'avouer, jamais!
Je peux, quand tout me blesse,
Pleurer de la tristesse
Qui, chaque jour, m'oppresse;
Mais la guérir, jamais!
Je peux, en parlant d'elle,
Dire à tous: Elle est belle
Comme une ange mortelle!
Mais, la nommer, jamais!
A Dieu, dans ma prière,
Mon secret, doux mystère,
Mon coeur ne peut le taire;
Mais, le trahir, jamais!
Je peux, moi qui l'adore,
L'aimer longtemps encore
D'un amour qu'elle ignore;
Mais, [l'aimer moins]1, jamais!
Je peux, l'âme flétrie,
Dans une autre patrie,
Aller finir ma vie,
Mais, l'oublier, jamais!
A. Dargomyzhsky sets stanzas 1-2, 5-6
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Dargomyzhsky: "la nommer"
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 (Sergey Rybin) , copyright © 2020, (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: 104
I can, in his presence -
Alas - without hope,
Dream of my suffering,
But to reveal it, never!
I can, when everything gives me pain,
Cry out of sadness,
Which oppresses me every day,
But to heal from it, never!
[...
...
...
...]
[...
...
...
...]
I can, the one whom I adore,
Keep loving for a long time,
With love, which he ignores,
But to name it, never!
I can with my withered soul
To the distant land
Depart to finish my life,
But to forget him, never!
