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Quand, pour me faire ce geste, tu as passé la main à travers le grillage de ta fenêtre, toute la vie de mon corps s'est arrêtée. Ni la fleur du magnolia, ni la neige de la montagne, ni le marbre, ni le jasmin, ne sont plus blancs que tes doigts où tes ongles brillaient comme des flammes. A mes compagnons qui s'étonnaient de sentir une odeur délicieuse, j'ai dit : « C'est le bras de ma bien-aimêe, ce sont les roses de ses ongles qui ont embaumé le carrefour... Que la bénédiction de Dieu soit sur cette demeure où ma bien-aimée est prisonnière ! » Et mes compagnons s'attristèrent, et mon cheval se mit à hennir, car l'arôme du bras de ma bien-aimée lui rappelait le parfum des grandes plaines qui sont au-delà de la mer.
Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, Paris: H. Piazza, 1921, pages 35-36.
Text Authorship:
- by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "L'adieu", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 33, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1911 [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 Louis Aubert (1877 - 1968), "L'adieu", 1917, published 1917 [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ], from Six poèmes arabes, no. 5, Paris, Édition Durand [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "The Farewell", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-01-01
Line count: 20
Word count: 134
When, to wave to me, you passed your hand across the grille of your window, all the life in my body came to a halt. Neither the magnolia blossom, nor the snow on the mountain, nor marble, nor jasmine, is whiter than your fingers where your nails shone like flames. To my companions who were amazed to smell a delicious scent, I said, "It is the arm of my beloved, it is the roses of her nails that have perfumed the crossroad ... May God's blessing be upon the dwelling where my beloved is imprisoned!" And my companions were saddened, and my horse began to whinny, for the scent of my beloved's arm reminded him of the fragrance of the great plains that are beyond the sea.
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.
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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "L'adieu", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 33, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1911
This text was added to the website: 2026-03-26
Line count: 20
Word count: 126