Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
If you wish to reprint translations, please use the Reprint Basket (upper right hand corner).
Reminder: You must always use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
La menace sous le ciel rouge Venait d’en bas des mâchoires Des écailles des anneaux D’une chaîne glissante et lourde La vie était distribuée Largement pour que la mort Prit au sérieux le tribut Qu’on lui payait sans compter La mort était le dieu d’amour Et les vainqueurs dans un baiser S’évanouissaient sur leurs victimes La pourriture avait du cœur Et pourtant sous le ciel rouge Sous les appétits de sang Sous la famine lugubre La caverne se ferma La terre utile effaça Les tombes creusées d’avance Les enfants n’eurent plus peur Des profondeurs maternelles Et la bêtise et la démence Et la bassesse firent place A des hommes frères des hommes Ne luttant plus contre la vie A des hommes indestructibles.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Paul Éluard, Œuvres complètes, Vol. 1, Paris: Gallimard, 1968, Pages 1062-1063.
Text Authorship:
- by Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (1895 - 1952), as Paul Éluard, "Un feu sans tache" [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 Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963), "La menace sous le ciel rouge", FP 120 no. 7 (1943), first performed 1946 [ chorus ], from cantata Figure humaine, no. 7, Éditions Salabert [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2021-01-22
Line count: 25
Word count: 122
The threat beneath the red sky Came from underneath jaws From scales from the links Of a heavy and slippery chain Life was distributed Widely so that death Took seriously the tribute That was paid to it freely Death was the god of love And the victors in a kiss Fainted over their victims Decay was emboldened And yet beneath the red sky Beneath the appetite for blood Beneath the dismal famine The cavern closed up The useful earth wiped out The graves dug in preparation The children were no longer afraid Of the maternal depths And foolishness and madness And baseness gave way To men brothers of men No longer contending against life To indestructible men.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"La menace sous le ciel rouge" = "The threat beneath the red sky"
"Un feu sans tache" = "An Immaculate Fire"
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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (1895 - 1952), as Paul Éluard, "Un feu sans tache"
This text was added to the website: 2026-04-18
Line count: 25
Word count: 117