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Oh ! Pourquoi donc, lorsqu'à leurs routes Les doux bonheurs ne manquent pas, Pourquoi donc pleurent-elles toutes, Ces pauvres femmes d'ici-bàs ? Ne jetez pas sur ce mystère Votre dédain froid et cruel, Et par le rire de la terre N'insultez pas aux pleurs du ciel. Ce qui soudain déborde en elles, Nul de vous ne l'éprouverait; Mais vous laissez ces esprits frêles Se bercer de leurs deuil secret! Ce n'est pas crainte involontaire, Ni regret, ni malheur réel, Mais par le rire de la terre N'insultez pas aux pleurs du ciel. C'est un breuvage de leurs âmes, Une exigence née ailleurs ; Il faut souvent des pleurs aux femmes Comme il faut de la pluie aux fleurs. Arrosé par l'ondée amère Leur amour fleurit, éternel, Oh par le rire de la terre N'insultez pas aux pleurs du ciel. Savez-vous si ce don suprême Luit en vain dans d'humides yeux ? Si ce n'est pas un saint baptême, Un sacrement religieux ? Ne jetez pas sur ce mystère Votre dédain froid et cruel, Et par le rire de la terre N'insultez pas aux pleurs du ciel.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Franz (Ferenc) Liszt (1811 - 1886), "Les pleurs des femmes ", 1844? [voice and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Garrett Medlock) , "The tears of women", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2013-06-24
Line count: 32
Word count: 181
Oh! Why then, while on their ways They are not lacking sweet pleasures, Why then are all of these poor women [Here on earth] weeping? Do not throw your disdain, Cold and cruel, upon this mystery, And with the laughing of the earth Do not insult the tears of heaven. That which suddenly overflows in them None of you could ever experience; But you leave these frail minds Cradling their secret mourning! This is not an involuntary fear, Nor a regret, nor genuine woe. But with the laughing of the earth Do not insult the tears of heaven. It is a [brew] of their souls, A requirement born elsewhere; Women need tears As flowers need rain. Watered by the bitter shower, Their love blooms, eternal, Oh with the laughing of the earth Do not insult the tears of heaven. Do you know if this supreme gift Shines in vain in wet eyes? [Do you know] if this is not a holy baptism, A religious sacrament? Do not throw your disdain, Cold and cruel, upon this mystery, And with the laughing of the earth Do not insult the tears of heaven.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2019 by Garrett Medlock, (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 Karolina Karlovna Pavlova (1807 - 1893)
This text was added to the website: 2019-05-07
Line count: 32
Word count: 190