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Une chanson, là-bas... C'est un mendiant. Puisqu’il chante, ce vieillard qui n’a jamais rien possédé, pourquoi gémis-tu, toi qui as de si beaux souvenirs ?
Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, page 82.
Text Authorship:
- by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Une chanson", appears in La flûte de jade, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1920 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Tsao Chang Ling (1719 - 1763) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Marguerite Béclard d'Harcourt (1884 - 1964), "Une chanson", published 1929 [ medium voice and piano ], from La flûte de jade, no. 4, Paris, Max Eschig [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Andrée Marie Clémence Bonhomme (1905 - 1982), "Une chanson", op. 67 no. 6 (1931) [ voice and piano or orchestra ], from La flûte de Jade, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Delune (1876 - 1940), "Une Chanson" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Yves Ramette (1921 - 2012), "Une chanson", op. 17 no. 3 (1960) [ voice and piano ], from La Flûte de jade, no. 3
Publisher: https://webshop.donemus.com/action/front/sheetmusic/20684/La+flûte+de+jade [external link] [sung text not yet checked]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by Louis Delune (1876 - 1940), "Ngo gay ngy", 1922, published 1924 [ medium voice, piano, flute ad libitum ], from Le Collier des offrandes, six poèmes lyriques d'après des poésies chinoises, no. 6, Paris, Éditions Hérelle, Fortemps, & Cie
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "A Song", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , François Le Roux [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-07-17
Line count: 3
Word count: 24
A song, over there... It's a beggar. Since he sings, this old man who has never possessed anything, why do you moan, you who have such beautiful memories?
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), "Une chanson", appears in La flûte de jade, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1920
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Tsao Chang Ling (1719 - 1763) [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2026-04-12
Line count: 3
Word count: 28