The Lobster | Lobster, the pasha of the sea

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by Robert Desnos (1900 - 1945)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Le homard

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG ENG

Homard le pacha de la mer,
Homard le bleu, Homard le rouge,
Homard le nageur à l’envers,
Homard, si tu remues, tu bouges.

Homard, ermite des rochers,
Homard, mauvais garçon, bon prince,
Homard, la gloire des marchés,
Homard, Monseigneur de la Pince.

Text Authorship:

by Robert Desnos (1900 - 1945), "Le homard", appears in Pour les Enfants Sages, in Chantefables, no. 7, first published 1944 [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 Roger Albin (1920 - 2001), "Le homard", 1969?, published 1969 [ soprano and piano or small orchestra ], from Chantefables pour les enfants sages, no. 4, Éd. du Rideau Rouge (R 497 RC) [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "The Lobster", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "The Lobster", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2014-05-23
Line count: 8
Word count: 42

The Lobster

Language: English after the French (Français)

Lobster, the pasha of the sea, 
Lobster the blue, lobster the red, 
Lobster the backwards swimmer, 
Lobster, if you wriggle, you move. 

Lobster, hermit of the rocks, 
Lobster, bad boy, good prince, 
Lobster, the glory of the market, 
Lobster, Your Lordship of the Claw.

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 Robert Desnos (1900 - 1945), "Le homard", appears in Pour les Enfants Sages, in Chantefables, no. 7, first published 1944
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-07-03
Line count: 8
Word count: 44