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Parfois, lorsque tout dort, je m'assieds plein de joie Sous le dôme étoilé qui sur nos fronts flamboie ; J'écoute si d'en haut il tombe quelque bruit ; Et l'heure vainement me frappe de son aile Quand je contemple, ému, cette fête éternelle Que le ciel rayonnant donne au monde la nuit. Souvent alors j'ai cru que ces soleils de flamme Dans ce monde endormi n'échauffaient que mon âme ; Qu'à les comprendre seul j'étais prédestiné ; Que j'étais, moi, vaine ombre obscure et taciturne, Le roi mystérieux de la pompe nocturne ; Que le ciel pour moi seul s'était illuminé !
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), no title, written 1829, appears in Les Feuilles d'automne, no. 21 [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 Auguste Guéroult (1836 - 1911), "Parfois, lorsque tout dort", op. 17 no. 3, published [1879] [ medium voice and piano ], from Poèmes lyriques, 2ème livre, no. 3, Paris, Éd. Félix Mackar [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Lefebvre (1843 - 1917), "Contemplation", op. 4, published [1900] [ medium voice and piano ], from Vingt Mélodies en trois volumes, no. 16, Paris, Éd. A. Noël [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jules Massenet (1842 - 1912), "La nuit", 1912, published 1913 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Mario van Overeem (1872 - 1946), "Parfois, lorsque tout dort" [ voice and piano ], from Mélodies : pour chant et piano, no. 1, Bruxelles : Cranz [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Tak někdy, vše když spí…", Prague, first published 1877
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-04-03
Line count: 12
Word count: 96
Sometimes, when all is asleep, I sit full of joy Under the starry dome that blazes overhead; I listen for any sound that might fall from on high; And time strikes me in vain with its wing When I contemplate, transported, that eternal festival That the radiant sky presents to the world at night. Often then I've thought that those suns of flame In all this sleeping world warmed my soul only; That I alone was predestined to understand them; That I myself, dark and taciturn vain shadow, was The mysterious king of that nocturnal ceremony; That the sky lit up for me alone!
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Contemplation" = "Contemplation"
"La nuit" = "At Night"
"Parfois, lorsque tout dort" = "Sometimes, when all is asleep"
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.
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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), no title, written 1829, appears in Les Feuilles d'automne, no. 21
This text was added to the website: 2025-08-17
Line count: 12
Word count: 104