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En Bohême était une Reine, Douce sœur du Roi de Thulé, Belle entre toutes les Reines, Reine par sa toute Beauté. Le grand Trouvère de Bohême Un soir triste d'automne roux Lui murmura le vieux : je t'aime !... — Âmes folles et cœurs si fous !... Et la Très Belle toute blanche Le doux Poète tant aima Que sur l'heure son âme blanche Vers les étoiles s'exhala... Les grosses cloches de Bohême Et les clochettes de Thulé Chantèrent l'hosana suprême [Pour]1 la Reine morte d'aimer...
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesConfirmed with Roland de Marès, Ariettes douloureuses, Paris, Leon Vanier, 1893, pages 60-61.
1 Ravel: "De"Text Authorship:
- by Roland de Marès (1874 - 1955), "Complainte de la Reine de Bohême", appears in Ariettes douloureuses, Paris, Leon Vanier, first published 1893 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937), "Ballade de la reine morte d'aimer", M. 4 (1893) [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Stanfield Prichard) , copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , François Le Roux [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 84
In Bohemia there was a Queen, Sweet sister of the King of Thule, Beautiful among all the Queens, Queen by her total beauty. The great Trouvère of Bohemia One sad evening in russet Autumn Murmured to her the age-old "I love you!" — Foolish souls and hearts so foolish! And the fairest Most Beautiful So loved the sweet Poet That at once her pure soul Was wafted towards the stars... The large bells of Bohemia And the little bells of Thule Sang the last Hosanna [For]1 the Queen who died of love...
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesTranslations of titles:
"Ballade de la reine morte d'aimer" = "Ballade of the queen who died of love"
"Complainte de la Reine de Bohême" = "Lament of the Queen of Bohemia"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (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.
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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Roland de Marès (1874 - 1955), "Complainte de la Reine de Bohême", appears in Ariettes douloureuses, Paris, Leon Vanier, first published 1893
This text was added to the website: 2026-05-28
Line count: 16
Word count: 93