Arabian Songs

Translations © by Grant Hicks

by Walter Morse Rummel (1887 - 1953)

View original-language texts alone: Chansons arabes

1. Notre banc  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Elle m'avait dit qu'Elle m'attendrait dans cette demeure 
où nous nous sommes tant aimés.
Je ne suis pas revenu.
Quand tu passeras sur la route de Dar-Ould-Zidah, 
arrête-toi devant un jardin que gardent deux cypres, 
et crie Son nom.
Si personne ne répond, pousse la porte, entre, et donne
un peu d'eau à des rosiers qui entourent un banc de marbre.

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Confirmed with Le jardin des caresses, in: Le revue de Paris, Paris : Bureau de la Revue de Paris, 1910, p.567


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
1. Our Bench
Language: English 
She had told me that She would wait for me in that dwelling 
where we had so loved each other. 
I have not gone back.
When you pass by on the way to Dar-Ould-Zidah, 
stop in front of a garden where two cypresses stand guard, 
and call out Her name. 
If no one answers, open the door, go in, and give
a little water to roses growing around a marble bench.

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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This text was added to the website: 2026-02-20
Line count: 8
Word count: 71

Translation © by Grant Hicks
2. L'Absente  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Afin d'oublier ma folie, je m'en suis allé dans la montagne. 
Mais, le silence des plateaux me rappelait d'autres silences. 

Afin d'oublier ma folie, je m'en suis allé sur la mer. 
Mais, son immensité me rappelait mon amour. 

Afin de mourir de ma folie, 
je suis revenu dans la demeure qu'elle habita.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, Paris : H. Piazza, 1919, p.136


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
2. She Is Gone
Language: English 
To forget my madness, I betook myself to the mountains. 
But the silence of the plateau reminded me of other silences. 

To forget my madness, I betook myself to the sea. 
But its vastness reminded me of my love. 

To die of my madness ,
I went back to the place where she lived.

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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This text was added to the website: 2026-02-23
Line count: 6
Word count: 54

Translation © by Grant Hicks
3. La Pluie sur les roses  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Une goutte tombe, [ensuite]1 une autre. 
C'est la première pluie sur les premières roses. 

D'abord, elles frissonnent, attristées. 
Mais, bientôt, leurs couleurs s'avivent 
et leur parfum devient plus délicieux. 

Tes premières larmes sur notre amour.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, L'édition d'Art H. Piazza, 1906, p.118

1 Thève: "et puis"

by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
3.
Language: English 
One drop falls, [then]1 another. 
It is the first rain on the first roses.

At first they shudder in distress. 
But soon their colors grow brighter
and their scent more delightful. 

Your first tears over our love.

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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Translations of titles:
"La pluie sur les roses" = "Rain on the Roses"
"La pluie sur les roses (A chuva sobre as rosas)" = "Rain on the Roses"

1 Thève: "and then"


This text was added to the website: 2026-02-23
Line count: 6
Word count: 38

Translation © by Grant Hicks