Do you recall a star

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by Jean Richepin (1849 - 1926)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Te souviens‑tu d'une étoile

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Te souviens-tu d'une étoile
Qui nous regardait un soir,
Ainsi qu'un oeil sous un voile,
  Dans le ciel noir ?

Nous avons fait la grimace
A cet astre curieux,
Cachant à demi sa face
  Pour nous voir mieux.

Elle est toujours dans l'espace.
Mais c'est l'étoile aujourd'hui
Qui là-haut fait la grimace
  A mon ennui.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Les caresses, Nouvelle Édition, Paris, G. Charpentier, [no date], page 275.

Text Authorship:

by Jean Richepin (1849 - 1926), "Te souviens-tu d'une étoile ?", written 1877, appears in Les Caresses, in 4. Nivôse, no. 29, Paris, Éd. M. Dreyfous, first published 1882 [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 César Antonovich Cui (1835 - 1918), "Te souviens-tu d'une étoile?", op. 44 no. 7 (1890) [ voice and piano ], from Vingt Poèmes de Jean Richepin, no. 7, Éd. "Au Menestrel" Henri Heugel [sung text checked 1 time]
by Ernest Moret (1871 - 1949), "Te souviens-tu d'une étoile ?", 1892, published 1900 [ high voice and piano ], from Chansons tristes, no. 8, Paris, Éd. Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
by Nikolay Aleksandrovich Sokolov (1859 - 1922), "La grimace", op. 31 (Sept Mélodies pour Chant et Piano) no. 2 (1898), published 1898 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Belaieff, also set in Russian (Русский) [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation (M. A. ) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Nikolay Aleksandrovich Sokolov.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]

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

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 54

Do you recall a star

Language: English after the French (Français)

Do you recall a star 
That watched us one night,
Like an eye behind a veil,
  In the black sky?

We made a face
At that curious star,
Half hiding its own face
  To see us better.

It is in space still.
But today it is the star
Up there making a face
  At my ennui.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"La grimace" = "Making a Face"
"Te souviens-tu d'une étoile ?" = "Do you recall a star"

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 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 Jean Richepin (1849 - 1926), "Te souviens-tu d'une étoile ?", written 1877, appears in Les Caresses, in 4. Nivôse, no. 29, Paris, Éd. M. Dreyfous, first published 1882
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-08-16
Line count: 12
Word count: 56