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Mettez-vous au saule, là, au bout du pré ; contre votre épaule vous le sentirez. Prenez la cornemuse, essayez un peu, si la musique intruse peut-être nous émeut. Tant qu'elle nous commande bien, nous danserons parmi la lavande, lui, le forgeron, et moi, la bergère... Ne soufflez pas mot. Si ça vous désespère, vous pleurerez tantôt !
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Poèmes français. Vergers. Les Roses. Les Fenêtres. Carnet de Poche. Poèmes épars, Paris: Paul Hartmann, ed., 1935, page 140.
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Chanson cruelle", appears in Poèmes et Dédicaces [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 Raffaele d'Alessandro (1911 - 1959), "Chanson cruelle", op. 21 (Trois chants) no. 2 (1938) [ alto and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hugues Cuénod (1902 - 2010), "Chanson cruelle", c1925 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean Hans August Daetwyler (1907 - 1994), "Chanson Cruelle" [ voice and piano ], from 5 Chansons, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hans Kox (b. 1930), "Chanson cruelle", 1957, copyright © 1957 [ mixed chorus ], from Chansons cruelles, no. 3, Amsterdam: Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maurice Verheul (b. 1964), "Souvenirs de Muzot, Chanson cruelle", MVWV 388 [ alto and piano ], from 6 songs, no. 6, based on a theme of 10 Somnia for flute No. 9 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Joop Voorn (1932 - 2021), "Chanson cruelle", 2011, published 2014, copyright © 2014 [ soprano and clarinet ], from Vues des anges, no. 7, Rijswijk, the Netherlands : Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2025, (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: 2023-07-13
Line count: 16
Word count: 55
Stand by the willow, there, at the meadow's edge; against your shoulder you will feel it. Pick up the bagpipe, try it out a bit, see if intrusive music might move us. As long as it commands us well, we will dance among the lavender, he, the blacksmith, and I, the shepherdess... Don't breathe a word. If that makes you to lose hope, you will cry soon enough!
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Chanson cruelle" = "Cruel Song"
"Souvenirs de Muzot, Chanson cruelle" = "Memories of Muzot, Cruel Song"
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 Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), "Chanson cruelle", appears in Poèmes et Dédicaces
This text was added to the website: 2025-10-05
Line count: 16
Word count: 68