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Vois-tu venir sur le chemin la lente, l'heureuse, celle que l'on envie, la promeneuse ? Au tournant de la route il faudrait qu'elle soit saluée par de beaux messieurs d'autrefois. Sous son ombrelle, avec une grâce passive, elle exploite la tendre alternative : s'effaçant un instant à la trop brusque lumière, elle ramène l'ombre dont elle s'éclaire.
Confirmed with The Complete French Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, Saint Paul: Greywolf Press, 1986, Page 150. Note: this edition has a typo in the final line ("ramene" instead of "ramène") that we have corrected above.
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "La passante d'été", written 1924, appears in Poèmes français, in 1. Vergers, no. 14 [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 Louis Durey (1888 - 1979), "La passante d'été", op. 42 no. 6 (1932), published 1966 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vergers, no. 6, Éd. Le Chant du Monde [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Bruno Gousset (b. 1958), "La passante d'été", op. 21 no. 6 (1986) [ high voice and piano ], from Vergers, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Léon Orthel (1905 - 1985), "La passante d'été", op. 65 (Neuf mélodies) no. 2 (1973) [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Stanfield Prichard) , "The passing girl in summer", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "Summer Passer-by", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 55
Do you see her coming along the lane, leisurely, cheerful, someone to be envied, out for a stroll? At the corner of the street she ought to be saluted by fine gentlemen from ages past. Beneath her parasol, with a passive grace, she exploits the tender alternative: retreating for a moment from the too-harsh light, she restores the shade from which she shines.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 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 Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "La passante d'été", written 1924, appears in Poèmes français, in 1. Vergers, no. 14
This text was added to the website: 2025-08-29
Line count: 8
Word count: 63