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Pourquoi vois-je pâlir la rose parfumée? Dis-moi, dis-moi, ma bien-aimée, Dis-moi pourquoi! Pourquoi, dans le gazon touffu, les violettes, Si fraîches d'habitude, ont-elles aujourd'hui Un air d'ennui? Pourquoi le chant des alouettes Si nostalgiquement meurt-il par les chemins? Pourquoi s'exhale-t-il des bosquets de jasmins La funéraire odeur qui sort des cassolettes? Pourquoi, semblable au feu suprême d'un flambeau Qui s'éteint, le soleil à l'horizon sans borne Jette-t-il un éclat moins ardent et moins beau? Pourquoi la terre entière est-elle grise et morne Comme un tombeau? Pourquoi suis-je si las, si triste et si malade? Ma chère bien-aimée oh! dis-le, dis-le moi, Si tu, trouves encore un mot qui persuade, Dis-moi pourquoi tu m'as abandonné? Pourquoi?
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Pierre-René Hirsch (1870 - 1891) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
- by Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz (1864 - 1955) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Lyrisches Intermezzo, no. 23
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz (1864 - 1955), "Pourquoi vois-je pâlir la rose parfumée", 1899, from Quatre Poèmes d'après l'Intermezzo d'Heinrich Heine, no. 2. [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Ahmed E. Ismail) , title unknown, copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-10
Line count: 20
Word count: 116
Why do I see the perfumed rose pale? Tell me, tell me, o my beloved, tell me why! Why, in the fluffy grass, do the violets, Usually so fresh, today possess An air of boredom? Why does the song of the larks So nostalgically die on the roads? Why do the bouquets of jasmine exhale The death-tinged fragrance of incense? Why, like the final fire of a just-extinguished torch does the sun on the limitless horizon Shine a beam less blazing and less beautiful? Why is the whole world gray and mournful Like a tombstone? Why am I so weary, so sad, and so sick? My dearly beloved, oh tell why, tell me why, If you can still find a word which can persuade me, Tell me why you have left me?
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2007 by Ahmed E. Ismail, (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 Pierre-René Hirsch (1870 - 1891) and by Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz (1864 - 1955)
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Heine (1797 - 1856), no title, appears in Buch der Lieder, in Lyrisches Intermezzo, no. 23
This text was added to the website: 2007-08-17
Line count: 18
Word count: 132