The Stars | You alone, in the nights

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.

by Lucien Paté (1845 - 1939)

Translation © by Amy Pfrimmer

Les Étoiles

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Vous qui voyez solitaire dans les nuits 
mon cœur élever de terre ses ennuis.
Lys de l'azur, pâles urnes, perles d'or, 
qui tombez des plus nocturnes quand tout dort.
Ô reines des heures sombres aux doux fronts,
Savez-vous ce qu'en nos ombres nous souffrons ?
Oui, ces pleurs, que le soir sème, sont à vous !
Mais coulent-ils pour vous-mèmes ou pour nous ?
Ah ! Si pour vous, mes étoiles sont vos pleurs,
mèlons sous les mèmes voiles nos douleurs 
dans vos calices de flamme fleurs du ciel,
Laissez puiser à mon âme votre miel
à mon cœur par la souffrance affaibli
versez un peu d'espérance ou d'oubli.

Text Authorship:

by Lucien Paté (1845 - 1939), "Les Étoiles", appears in Poésies, Paris, Éd. G. Charpentier, first published 1878 [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 Charles Marie Jean Albert Widor (1844 - 1937), "Les Étoiles", op. 47 no. 3 [ high voice and piano ], from Quarante mélodies, no. 27, Éd. J. Hamelle [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Amy Pfrimmer) , "The Stars", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2018-09-24
Line count: 14
Word count: 105

The Stars

Language: English after the French (Français)

You alone, in the nights, 
see my weary heart rising from the earth.
Lilies of blue, pale urns, pearls of gold, 
fall from the folds of night when everything sleeps.
O queens of the somber hours with soft brows, 
do you know what we suffer in our own shadows?
Yes, these tears, that the evening sows, are yours! 
But do they flow for you or for us?
Ah! If my stars are your tears, 
let us mingle our sorrows with heavenly flowers 
in your chalices of flame, 
Let your honey draw into my soul, 
into my heart weakened by suffering, 
and pour into it a little hope or oblivion.

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), "Les Étoiles", appears in Poésies, Paris, Éd. G. Charpentier, first published 1878
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2023-06-05
Line count: 14
Word count: 109