The Ant | An ant eighteen meters long

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

La fourmi

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Une fourmi de dix-huit mètres
Avec un chapeau sur la tête
ça n'existe pas, ça n'existe pas.

Une fourmi traînant un char
Plein de pingouins et de canards,
ça n'existe pas, ça n'existe pas.

Une fourmi parlant français, 
Parlant latin et javanais
ça n'existe pas, ça n'existe pas.
Eh ! Pourquoi pas ?

Text Authorship:

by Robert Desnos (1900 - 1945), "La Fourmi", appears in Pour les Enfants Sages, in Chantefables, no. 8, 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 Roger Albin (1920 - 2001), "La fourmi", 1969?, published 1969 [ soprano and piano or small orchestra ], from Chantefables pour les enfants sages, no. 2, Éd. du Rideau Rouge (R 497 RC) [sung text not yet checked]
by Monic Cecconi-Botella (b. 1936), "La fourmi", <<2009 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Joseph Kosma (1905 - 1969), "La Fourmi", published 1950 [ medium voice and piano ], Éd. Enoch [sung text not yet checked]

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

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

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2014-05-23
Line count: 10
Word count: 51

The Ant

Language: English after the French (Français)

An ant eighteen meters long
With a hat on its head,
There's no such thing, there's no such thing. 

An ant pulling a chariot
Full of penguins and ducks,
There's no such thing, there's no such thing. 

An ant speaking French, 
Speaking Latin and Javanese, 
There's no such thing, there's no such thing. 
Well, why not?

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), "La Fourmi", appears in Pour les Enfants Sages, in Chantefables, no. 8, Éd. Librairie Gründ, first published 1944
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-07-03
Line count: 10
Word count: 56