Tell me, do you know, why? | Tell me, do you know, why do I feel so weary

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by Élise de Pressensé (1826 - 1901)

Translation © by Amy Pfrimmer

Dis, le sais‑tu, pourquoi ?

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Dis, le sais-tu, pourquoi je me sens si lassée,
que je voudrais m'asseoir sur le bord du chemin ?
Pourquoi mon cœur est triste, et mon âme oppressée,
et pourquoi mon regard se détourne du tien ?

Sais-tu pourquoi ma main, quand ta main l'a cherchée,
glacée et sans élan, ne t'a pas répondu,
et pourquoi comme l'urne à regret épanchée
mon cœur avec le tien ne s'est pas confondu ?

Dis, le sais-tu, pourquoi ? Le sais-tu ?

Text Authorship:

by Élise de Pressensé (1826 - 1901) [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), "Dis, le sais-tu, pourquoi ?" [ high voice and piano ], from Quarante mélodies, no. 35, Éd. J. Hamelle [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Amy Pfrimmer) , "Tell me, do you know, why?", 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: 9
Word count: 74

Tell me, do you know, why?

Language: English after the French (Français)

Tell me, do you know, why do I feel so weary, 
that I would like to sit by the wayside?
Why my heart is sad, and my soul oppressed, 
and why my gaze turns away from yours?

Do you know why my hand, when your hand sought it, 
frozen and without yearning, did not answer you,
And why, like the urn poured out with regret, 
has my heart not joined with yours?

Tell me, do you know why? Do you know?

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 Élise de Pressensé (1826 - 1901)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2023-06-06
Line count: 9
Word count: 81