Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
If you wish to reprint translations, please use the Reprint Basket (upper right hand corner).
Reminder: You must always use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Oui je t'ai conservé, cher bouquet de verveines, Que ses petites mains laissèrent dans les miennes, À l'heure triste du départ. Fleurs d'un jour, ce jour-là si fraîches et pimpantes ! Vous courbez maintenant vos têtes languissantes, Et charmez encor mon regard. Je cherche vainement sur vos feuilles flétries La trace des baisers que ses lèvres chéries Y mirent au dernier instant ! Le temps également de vos senteurs divines A desséché la source au fond de vos poitrines... [Mais mon amour est persistant]1 ! Durant mes longues nuits, quand tout dort et repose, Auprès de moi je cherche aussi sa tête rose... Déception et vain désir ! Dans mes yeux fatigués alors viennent des larmes, Et j'éprouve pourtant, à ces vives alarmes, Un étrange et cruel plaisir ! Mais toi qui du bonheur me rappelles les heures, Cher bouquet, sur mon sein je veux que tu demeures, Et, lorsque nous la reverrons, Comme preuve, au retour, du souvenir fidèle Que mon cœur amoureux a si bien gardé d'elle, Dans ses mains nous te remettrons.
C. Widor sets stanzas 1-2
Confirmed with La première absence. Lettres en vers (Avril à Octobre 185...), Paris, Librairie des Bibliophiles, 1872, pages 84-85.
1 Widor: "Et mon cœur toujours est vivant"Text Authorship:
- by Élie Cabrol (1829 - 1905), "Le Bouquet", appears in La première absence. Lettres en vers (Avril à Octobre 185..., first published 1872 [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 Charles Marie Jean Albert Widor (1844 - 1937), "Le Bouquet", op. 37 no. 6, stanzas 1-2 [ medium voice and piano ], from Quarante mélodies, no. 18, Éd. J. Hamelle [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Amy Pfrimmer) , "The Bouquet", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2018-04-04
Line count: 24
Word count: 171
Yes, I saved you, dearest bouquet of verbenas, which her little hands left in mine, At the sad hour of departure. Flowers from the day, that day so fresh and spirited! Now you bow your languid heads, And still charm my gaze. I search in vain on your withered leaves for a trace of the kisses that her cherished lips Put there at the last moment! Time has dried up the source of your divine scents deep in your breasts... And my heart is still alive! [... ... ... ... ... ...] [... ... ... ... ... ...]
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © by Amy Pfrimmer, (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 Élie Cabrol (1829 - 1905), "Le Bouquet", appears in La première absence. Lettres en vers (Avril à Octobre 185..., first published 1872
This text was added to the website: 2023-06-05
Line count: 24
Word count: 86