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Il est nuit : la mer dans son lit repose, Assoupie au loin si tranquillement Que pas une brise à cette heure n'ose Troubler d'un baiser son recueillement. Sans murmure aucun, sans aucune ride, Qu'elle est belle à voir cette mer qui dort, Laissant admirer dans le flot limpide A la claire nuit ses étoiles d'or ! Pour jouir ainsi de ce calme immense, Quel est ton secret, ô mer ? [Dis-le-moi !]1 Car je sais un cœur, un cœur en démence, Qui voudrait enfin dormir comme toi !
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotes1 omitted by Saindon
Text Authorship:
- by Joseph Antoine Autran (1813 - 1877), "Mer calme", written 1852?, appears in Les poèmes de la mer, in 2. Méditerranée, no. 17, Paris, Éd. Michel Lévy [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 Paul Gautier , "Mer calme", published 1921 [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. Durdilly, Ch. Hayet [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marie-Claire Saindon (b. 1984), "Mer calme" [ men's chorus ], MusicSpoke
Publisher: MusicSpoke [external link] [sung text checked 1 time] - by Jean-Baptiste Théodore Weckerlin (1821 - 1910), "Mer calme, la nuit", 1860, published [1860] [ medium voice and piano ], from Les poèmes de la mer, Ode symphonique, no. 4, Éd. G. Flaxland [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-03-05
Line count: 12
Word count: 86
It is night: the sea rests in its bed, Dozing in the distance so tranquilly That not a breeze dares at this hour To disturb its meditations with a kiss. Without a murmur, without a ripple, How pleasing to the eye is this sleeping sea, That in its limpid swell allows the clear night To admire its golden stars! To enjoy in such a way this vast calm, What is your secret, O sea? [Tell me!]1 For I know a heart, a heart driven mad, That would wish at last to sleep as you do.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesTranslations of titles:
"Mer calme" = "Calm Sea"
"Mer calme, la nuit" = "Calm Sea at Night"
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 Joseph Antoine Autran (1813 - 1877), "Mer calme", written 1852?, appears in Les poèmes de la mer, in 2. Méditerranée, no. 17, Paris, Éd. Michel Lévy
This text was added to the website: 2026-03-06
Line count: 12
Word count: 96