by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translation Singable translation by Richard Genée (1823 - 1895)
Si vous n'avez rien à me dire
Language: French (Français)
Si vous n'avez rien à me dire, Pourquoi venir auprès de moi ? Pourquoi me faire ce sourire Qui tournerait la tête au roi ? Si vous n'avez rien à me dire, Pourquoi venir auprès de moi ? Si vous n'avez rien à m'apprendre, Pourquoi me pressez-vous la main ? Sur le rêve angélique et tendre, Auquel vous songez en chemin, Si vous n'avez rien à m'apprendre, Pourquoi me pressez-vous la main ? Si vous voulez que je m'en aille, Pourquoi passez-vous par ici ? Lorsque je vous vois, je tressaille : C'est ma joie et c'est mon souci. Si vous voulez que je m'en aille, Pourquoi passez-vous par ici ?
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Victor Hugo, Les Contemplations, Nelson, 1911 (p. 87).
Text Authorship:
- by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), "Chanson", appears in Les Contemplations, in 2. Livre deuxiême -- L'âme en fleur, no. 4 [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 Joseph Henry Altès (1826 - 1895), "Chanson", op. 26 no. 2, published [1865?] [ voice and piano or orchestra ], from 15 Mélodies, no. 2, Paris, Éd. Simon Richault [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eugène Anthiome (1836 - 1916), "Si vous n'avez rien à me dire", published 1903 [ medium voice and piano ], in the journal L'Illustration, no. 3162 of October 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by P. de Crisenoy , "Si vous n'avez rien à me dire", published 1858 [ voice and piano ], from Mélodies, no. 2, Paris, Brandus et Dufour [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean-Baptiste Faure (1830 - 1914), "Pourquoi ?" [ high voice and piano ], from Premier recueil de vingt-cinq Mélodies chant et piano de J. Faure, no. 11, Édition Heugel 'Au Ménestrel' [sung text not yet checked]
- by Albert Huybrechts (1899 - 1938), "Chanson", 1918 [ medium voice and piano ], unpublished [sung text not yet checked]
- by Halfdan Kjerulf (1815 - 1868), "Chanson", op. 5 (8 Sånger) no. 1 (1852-1858), published 1858 [ medium voice and piano ]
Score: IMSLP [external link] [sung text not yet checked] - by Eduard Lassen (1830 - 1904), "Si vous n'avez rien, à me dire", op. 46 (Fünf Lieder) no. 3, published 1875 [ duet for 2 voices with piano ], Breslau, Hainauer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Salvatore C. Marchesi (1822 - 1908), "Pourquoi ?", published [1865] [ medium voice and piano ], Éd. Schott [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marcel Mihalovici (1898 - 1985), "Chanson", op. 25 no. 1 (1927), published 1932 [ high voice and piano ], from Trois Romances de V. Hugo, no. 1, Éd. R. Deiss [sung text not yet checked]
- by Émile Pessard (1843 - 1917), "Si vous n'avez rien à me dire" [ voice and piano ], Éd. Alphonse Leduc [sung text not yet checked]
- by Napoléon-Henri Reber (1807 - 1880), "Si vous n'avez rien à me dire", published 1879 [ high voice and piano ], from Vingt mélodies pour chant et piano - 2ième receuil, no. 10, Paris, Éd. Richault & Cie. [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Gabriel Robert , "Chanson", op. 32 (Quatre mélodies avec accompagnement de piano) no. 1, published 1911 [ high voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. Costallat [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pierre-Jacob Robert-Cantabre , "Chanson", published [1921] [ high voice and piano ], from Mélodies, I, no. 2, Pau, Éd. Pierre Jacob Cantabre [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mathilde, Baroness Willy de Rothschild (1832 - 1924), "Si vous n'avez rien à me dire", op. 5 no. 1, published 1875 [ voice and piano ], Wien, Schreiber, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "Si vous n'avez rien à me dire", 1870, published 1896 [ medium voice and piano ], Éd. Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Gaston Schindler (1872 - 1939), "Si vous n'avez rien à me dire", published 1901 [ voice and piano ], in the musical supplement to L'Illustration, April 20, 1901 [sung text not yet checked]
- by François Luc Joseph Thomé (1850 - 1909), as Francis Thomé, "Si vous n'avez rien à me dire", published 1903 [ voice and piano ], Éd. J. Hamelle [sung text not yet checked]
- by Albert Weinstötter (b. 1854), "Si vous n'avez rien à me dire", published 1884, from Deux Romances, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Fritz Bennicke Hart.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Richard Genée (1823 - 1895) ; composed by Hugo Riemann, Mathilde, Baroness Willy de Rothschild.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , no title, copyright © 2016
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 103
Und hast du mir kein Wort zu sagen?
Language: German (Deutsch) after the French (Français)
Und hast du mir kein Wort zu sagen, warum kamst du in meine Näh'? Viel schwerer ist mein Leid zu tragen, wenn ich dabei dein Lächeln seh'. Dein Druck der Hand macht mich erbeben, doch spricht dein Mund kein einzig Wort! Woran hast du gedacht soeben? Welch holden Traum scheucht' ich dir fort? Warum an mir vorüber streifen und dann mich stoßen kalt zurück? Wirst du die Qualen nie begreifen, die Qualen, die doch all mein Glück?
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation by Richard Genée (1823 - 1895) [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), "Chanson", appears in Les Contemplations, in 2. Livre deuxiême -- L'âme en fleur, no. 4
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Hugo Riemann (1849 - 1919), "Und hast du mir kein Wort zu sagen", op. 51 (Drei Lieder für eine Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Mathilde, Baroness Willy de Rothschild (1832 - 1924), "Und hast du mir kein Wort zu sagen?", op. 5 no. 1, published 1875 [ voice and piano ], Wien, Schreiber, also set in French (Français) [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2025-12-18
Line count: 12
Word count: 77