Three Poems from The Jade Flute

Translations © by Grant Hicks

Song Cycle by Raymond Paul-Henri-Joseph Lebrun (1892 - 1920)

View original-language texts alone: Trois poésies extraites de la Flûte de Jade

1.   [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Ne m'apportez plus de fleurs, 
mais de branches de cyprès 
où je plongerais mon visage ! 
Quand le soleil a disparu 
derrière les montagnes, 
je mets ma robe bleu 
aux manches légères, 
et je vais dormir
parmi les bambous qu'elle aimait.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, page 3.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
1. Since she went away...
Language: English 
Bring me no more flowers, 
but cypress branches 
for me to bury my face in! 
When the sun has disappeared 
behind the mountains, 
I put on my blue robe
with light sleeves 
and I go and sleep 
among the bamboo that she loved.

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: 2026-04-12
Line count: 9
Word count: 43

Translation © by Grant Hicks
2. L'Orage favorable  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Je maudissais la pluie qui faisait résonner mon toit
et m'empêchait de dormir.
 
Je maudissais le vent qui saccageait mon jardin.
 
Mais tu es arrivée !
 
Et j'ai remercié la pluie, puisque tu as dû ôter ta robe mouillé,
et j'ai remercié le vent, qui venait d'éteindre ma lampe.

Text Authorship:

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, page 31.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
2. The Favorable Storm
Language: English 
I cursed the rain that was pounding on my roof
and keeping me from sleeping. 

I cursed the wind that was destroying my garden.

But you arrived!

And I thanked the rain, since you had to take off your wet robe,
and I thanked the wind, which had just put out my lamp.

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: 2026-04-12
Line count: 6
Word count: 53

Translation © by Grant Hicks
3. La Fleur du pêcher  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
J'ai cueilli une fleur rose de pêcher, 
et je l'ai offerte à ma bien-aimée, 
dont la bouche est aussi petite et aussi rose
qu'une fleur de pêcher. 

J'ai pris, dans son nid, une hirondelle aux ailes noires, 
et je l'ai offerte à ma bien-aimée, 
dont les sourcils ressemblent
aux ailes de l'hirondelle. 

Le lendemain, la fleur de pêcher était fanée, 
et l'hirondelle avait fui par la fenêtre 
qui donne sur la Montagne Bleue. 

Mais la bouche de ma bien-aimée était toujours rose, 
et ses sourcils ne s'étaient pas envolés.

Text Authorship:

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, pages 34-35.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
3. The Peach Blossom
Language: English 
I picked a pink blossom from a peach tree,
and I gave it to my beloved, 
whose mouth is as small and as pink
as a peach blossom. 

I caught in its nest a swallow with black wings,
and I gave it to my beloved, 
whose eyebrows are like
the wings of a swallow. 

The next day, the peach blossom had wilted, 
and the swallow had fled through the window 
that looks out over the Blue Mountain. 

But my beloved's mouth was still pink, 
and her eyebrows had not flown away.

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 Fleur de pêcher" = "The Peach Blossom"
"La Fleur du pêcher" = "The Peach Blossom"


This text was added to the website: 2026-04-29
Line count: 13
Word count: 91

Translation © by Grant Hicks