by
Lucien Paté (1845 - 1939)
J'ai dit aux bois toute ma peine
Language: French (Français)
J'ai dit aux bois toute ma peine,
Et les bois en ont soupiré ;
J'ai dit mon mal à la fontaine,
Et la fontaine en a pleuré ;
Je l'ai dit à l'oiseau qui chante,
Et l'oiseau tristement s'est tu ;
Je l'ai dit à l'étoile ardente,
Qui par un signe a répondu ;
Je l'ai dit à la fleur cachée,
Dans l'herbe épaisse sous mes pieds ;
Je l'ai dit à la fleur penchée
Sur ma tête, dans mes sentiers :
Et vite elles ont sur ma plaie
Répandu, prises de pitié,
Fleurs du gazon ou de la haie,
Le parfum de leur amitié !
Ah ! lorsque toute la nature
Ainsi prend part à mes douleurs,
Quand le vent qui passe et murmure
Sur ton aile emporte mes pleurs,
Voudras-tu pas aussi m'entendre,
Réponds, toi qui les fais couler,
Et, plus douce alors et plus tendre,
Voudras-tu pas me consoler ?
About the headline (FAQ)
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):
- by Albert Cahen d’Anvers (1846 - 1903), "J'ai dit aux bois", published [1872] [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Édition G. Hartmann [sung text not yet checked]
- by André Devaere (1890 - 1914), "La plainte", op. 1 no. 5 [ voice and piano ], from Cinq mélodies, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Paray (1886 - 1979), "La plainte", 1911 [ high voice and piano or orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Marie Jean Albert Widor (1844 - 1937), "J'ai dit aux bois", op. 47 no. 2 [ medium voice and piano ], from Quarante mélodies, no. 26, Éd. J. Hamelle [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Amy Pfrimmer) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2013-03-30
Line count: 24
Word count: 144
I told the forest all my pain
Language: English after the French (Français)
I told the forest all my pain
and the forest sighed;
I told my trouble to the fountain,
and the fountain cried;
I said it to the singing bird
and the bird sadly fell silent;
I said it to the burning star
who answered with a sign;
I said it to the hidden flowers,
in the thick grass beneath my feet;
I said it to the flowers
arching toward my head on the pathways:
And quickly the flowered hedges
took pity and spread
the perfume of their friendship
on my wound!
Ah! When all of nature thus
take its part in my sorrow,
when the wind passes and whispers
on its wing carrying away my tears;
Would you not also like to hear me
answer you, you who make the words flow,
and even more so, so tenderly,
wouldn’t you like to console me?
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "J’ai dit aux bois" = "I Told the Forest"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2023 by Amy Pfrimmer, (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 Lucien Paté (1845 - 1939), "La Plainte", appears in Poésies, Paris, Éd. Charpentier, first published 1878
This text was added to the website: 2023-06-05
Line count: 24
Word count: 144
