The drunkenness of lovers creates the night's splendor

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by Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909), as Jean Lahor

Translation © by Grant Hicks

L'ivresse des amants fait la splendeur...

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

L'ivresse des amants fait la splendeur des nuits :
C'est mon cœur que j'écoute en cet oiseau qui pleure ;
Un écho de mon cœur palpite en tous ces bruits,
Et mon âme se mêle au souffle qui t'effleure.

Ce qui rend ce ciel morne à nos regards si doux,
C'est l'ivresse d'aimer qu'exhale tout notre être,
Et c'est par tout l'amour qui rayonne de nous,
Que cette immense nuit nous caresse et pénètre.

— Sois donc ivre, ô mon âme, et sois ivre toujours ;
La seule illusion fait la beauté des choses ;
Et pleure aussi parfois, sachant que tes amours 
Ont la fragilité des lèvres et des roses.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Jean Lahor, L'Illusion, Paris: Alphonse Lemerre, 1888, Page 28.

Text Authorship:

by Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909), as Jean Lahor, "L'Ivresse des amants", written 1875, appears in L'Illusion, in 1. Chants de l'Amour et de la Mort, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1875 [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 André Mullot , "Ivresse des amants", published [1917] [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. Albert Boulanger [sung text not yet checked]

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 page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-05-23
Line count: 12
Word count: 107

The drunkenness of lovers creates the...

Language: English after the French (Français)

The drunkenness of lovers creates the night's splendor:
It is my heart that I hear in this weeping bird;
An echo of my heart throbs in all these noises,
And my soul mingles with the breath that brushes against you.

What makes this dreary sky so sweet in our sight
Is the drunkenness of love that all our being exhales,
And it is by all the love that radiates from us
That this vast night caresses and permeates us.

— So be drunk, my soul, and be drunk always;
It is only illusion that makes things beautiful;
And weep, too, now and then, knowing that your loves
Are as fragile as lips and roses.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Ivresse des amants" = "Drunkenness of Lovers"
"L'Ivresse des amants" = "The Drunkenness of Lovers"

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 Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909), as Jean Lahor, "L'Ivresse des amants", written 1875, appears in L'Illusion, in 1. Chants de l'Amour et de la Mort, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1875
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-05-23
Line count: 12
Word count: 114