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Je m'étais endormi, et je rêvais qu'une caravane exténuée traversait un désert, où je la guidais. Et qu'un fabuleux mirage surgissait devant nous, et que ce mirage était toi-même, avec les lacs de tes yeux et les vergers de ton corps. Et que tu t'élançais vers moi, et que mes compagnons, désespérés, se couchaient pour mourir. Je viens de prononcer ton nom, afin de recommencer ce rêve... Hélas ! on ne voit jamais deux fois le même mirage.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, Paris: L'édition d'Art H. Piazza, 1921, pages 19-20.
Text Authorship:
- by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Mirage", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 14, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1911 [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 Louis Aubert (1877 - 1968), "Le mirage", 1917, published 1917 [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ], from Six poèmes arabes, no. 1, Paris, Édition Durand [sung text not yet checked]
- by Irène Fuerison (1875 - 1931), "Mirage", op. 93 no. 8 (1926), published 2020 [ voice and piano ], from Le jardin des caresses, no. 8, Höflich, München [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pierre Giriat (1886 - 1979), "Le Mirage", op. 4 no. 1, copyright © 1925 [ voice and piano ], from Trois Poèmes de Franz Toussaint, no. 1, Paris : Rouart, Lerolle [sung text not yet checked]
- by Abel Nathan , "Le Mirage", published 1930 [ voice and piano ], from Le Jardin des caresses, no. 2, Paris : L. Philippo [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: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-05-19
Line count: 9
Word count: 77
I went to sleep, and I dreamed that a weary caravan was crossing a desert, where I was leading it. And that a fabulous mirage appeared before us, and that this mirage was you yourself, with lakes of your eyes and orchards of your body. And that you rushed towards me, and that my companions, in desperation, lay down to die. I have just spoken your name, so as to begin this dream again ... Alas! No one sees the same mirage twice.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Le mirage" = "The Mirage"
"Mirage" = "Mirage"
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 Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Mirage", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 14, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1911
This text was added to the website: 2026-03-04
Line count: 9
Word count: 82