The Tortoise | I am a tortoise and I am beautiful

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by Robert Desnos (1900 - 1945)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

La tortue

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Je suis tortue et je suis belle,
Il ne me manque que des ailes
Pour imiter les hirondelles,
Que ? Que ? 

Mon élégant corset d’écailles
Sans boutons, sans vernis, ni mailles
Est exactement à ma taille.
Ni ? Ni ?

Je suis tortue et non bossue,
Je suis tortue et non cossue,
Je suis tortue et non déçue,
Eh ? Non ?

Text Authorship:

by Robert Desnos (1900 - 1945), "La tortue", appears in Pour les Enfants Sages, in Chantefables, no. 20, 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), "La tortue", 1990, published 1992, first performed 1991 [ high voice and orchestra or piano ], from Chantefleurs et chantefables, no. 5, Universal Editions [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "The Tortoise", 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: 57

The Tortoise

Language: English after the French (Français)

I am a tortoise and I am beautiful,
I lack but wings
To imitate the swallows,
But? But?

My elegant corset of scales
With neither buttons nor varnish nor stitches,
Is exactly my size.
Nor? Nor?

I am a tortoise and no hunchback,
I am a tortoise and no moneybags,
I am a tortoise and no malcontent,
And? No?

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 tortue", appears in Pour les Enfants Sages, in Chantefables, no. 20, 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: 59