The Butterfly | Three hundred million butterflies

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 Robert Desnos (1900 - 1945)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Le papillon

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Trois cents millions de papillons
Sont arrivés à Châtillon
Afin d’y boire du bouillon,
Châtillon-sur-Loire,
Châtillon-sur-Marne,
Châtillon-sur-Seine.

Plaignez les gens de Châtillon !
Ils n’ont plus d’yeux dans leur bouillon
Mais des millions de papillons.
Châtillon-sur-Seine,
Châtillon-sur-Marne,
Châtillon-sur-Loire.

Text Authorship:

by Robert Desnos (1900 - 1945), "Le papillon", appears in Pour les Enfants Sages, in Chantefables, no. 2, Paris, Éd. Librairie Gründ, first published 1944 [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 Witold Lutoslawski (1913 - 1994), "Le papillon", 1990, published 1992, first performed 1991 [ high voice and orchestra or piano ], from Chantefleurs et chantefables, no. 9, Universal Editions [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "The Butterfly", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2016-01-25
Line count: 12
Word count: 37

The Butterfly

Language: English after the French (Français)

Three hundred million butterflies 
Have come to Châtillon
There to drink bouillon,
Châtillon-sur-Loire,
Châtillon-sur-Marne,
Châtillon-sur-Seine.

Pity the people of Châtillon!
They no longer have fat floating in their bouillon 
But millions of butterflies.
Châtillon-sur-Seine,
Châtillon-sur-Marne,
Châtillon-sur-Loire.

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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Robert Desnos (1900 - 1945), "Le papillon", appears in Pour les Enfants Sages, in Chantefables, no. 2, Paris, Éd. Librairie Gründ, first published 1944
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-07-02
Line count: 12
Word count: 36