English translations of 5 Mélodies, opus 2

by Henri Duparc (1848 - 1933)

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1. Soupir
 (Sung text)
by Henri Duparc (1848 - 1933), "Soupir", op. 2 (5 Mélodies) no. 1 (1868-1902) [ voice and piano ]
Language: French (Français) 
Ne jamais la voir ni l'entendre,
Ne jamais tout haut la nommer,
Mais, fidèle, toujours l'attendre,
  Toujours l'aimer!

Ouvrir les bras, et, las d'attendre,
Sur le néant les refermer!
Mais encor, toujours les lui tendre
  Toujours l'aimer.

Ah! ne pouvoir que les lui tendre
Et dans les pleurs se consumer,
Mais ces pleurs toujours les répandre,
  Toujours l'aimer...

Ne jamais la voir ni l'entendre,
Ne jamais tout haut la nommer,
Mais d'un amour toujours plus tendre
  Toujours l'aimer. Toujours!

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sometimes misattributed to Édouard Jules Henri Pailleron (1834 - 1899) and by René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907)
1. Never to see or hear her
Language: English 
 Never to see or hear her,
 never to name her aloud,
 but faithfully always to wait for her
 and love her.
 
 To open my arms and, tired of waiting,
 to close them on nothing,
 but still always to stretch them out to her
 and to love her.
 
 To only be able to stretch them out to her,
 and then to be consumed in tears,
 but always to shed these tears,
 always to love her.
 
 Never to see or hear her,
 never to name her aloud,
 but with a love that grows ever more tender,
  always to love her. Always!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2002 by Faith J. Cormier, (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 between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 100

Translation © by Faith J. Cormier
2. Sérénade
 (Sung text)
by Henri Duparc (1848 - 1933), "Sérénade", op. 2 (5 Mélodies) no. 2 (1869) [ medium voice and piano ]
Language: French (Français) 
Si j'étais, ô mon amoureuse,
La brise au souffle parfumé,
Pour frôler ta bouche rieuse,
Je viendrais craintif et charmé.

Si j'étais l'abeille qui vole,
Ou le papillon séducteur,
Tu ne me verrais pas, frivole,
Te quitter pour une autre fleur.

Si j'étais la rose charmante
Que ta main place sur ton coeur,
Si près de toi toute tremblante
Je me fanerais de bonheur.

Mais en vain je cherche à te plaire,
J'ai beau gémir et soupirer.
Je suis homme, et que puis-je faire? -
T'aimer... Te le dire ... Et pleurer!

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by Gabriel Marc (1840 - 1901)
2. Serenade
Language: English 
If I were, o my love,
The breeze of a perfumed breath
Brushing against your cheerful mouth
I would become timid and charmed.

If I were the bee that flew,
Or the seductive butterfly,
You would not see me, frivolous,
Leave you for another flower.

If I were the charming rose
Which your hand placed on your heart
So near to you, all trembling,
I would faint with happiness.

But in vain I seek to please you.
I quite moan and sigh.
I am a man, and what can I do?
Love you . . . tell you so . . . and cry!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2004 by Ahmed E. Ismail, (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: 

Based on:

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This text was added to the website: 2004-05-08
Line count: 16
Word count: 104

Translation © by Ahmed E. Ismail
3. Romance de Mignon
 (Sung text)
by Henri Duparc (1848 - 1933), "Romance de Mignon", op. 2 (5 Mélodies) no. 3 (1869) [ soprano and piano ]
Language: French (Français) 
Le connais-tu, ce radieux pays
Où brille dans les branches d'or des fruits ?
Un doux zéphir embaume l'air
Et le laurier s'unit au myrte vert.
Le connais-tu, le connais-tu ? 
Là-bas, là-bas, mon bien-aimé,
Courons porter nos pas.

Le connais-tu, ce merveilleux séjour
Où tout me parle encor de notre amour ?
Où chaque objet me dit avec douleur :
Qui t'a ravi ta joie et ton bonheur ?
Le connais-tu, le connais-tu ?
Là-bas, là-bas, mon bien-aimé,
Courons porter nos pas.

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by Victor Wilder (1835 - 1892)
3. Mignon's song
Language: English 
Do you know that radiant land
Where fruit glints among branches of gold?
A soft breeze perfumes the air,
And the laurel and green myrtle grow as one.
Do you know it, do you know it? 
To that place, my beloved, 
Let us run, let us go.

Do you know that marvelous place
Where everything still speaks to me of our love?
Where every object asks me with sadness: 
Who has stolen away your joy and happiness?
Do you know it, do you know it? 
To that place, my beloved, 
Let us run, let us go.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Emily Ezust

    Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:

    Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
    from the LiederNet Archive

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.


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This text was added to the website: 2016-02-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 96

Translation © by Emily Ezust
4. Le Galop
 (Sung text)
by Henri Duparc (1848 - 1933), "Le Galop", op. 2 (5 Mélodies) no. 5 (1869), published 1948 [ medium voice and piano ]
Language: French (Français) 
Agite, bon cheval, ta crinière fuyante,
Que l'air autour de nous se remplisse de voix !
Que j'entende craquer sous ta corne bruyante
Le gravier des ruisseaux et les débris des bois.

Aux vapeurs de tes flancs mêle ta chaude haleine,
Aux éclairs de tes pieds, ton écume et ton sang !
Cours, comme on voit un aigle, en effleurant la plaine
Fouetter l'herbe d'un vol sonore et frémissant !

« Allons, les jeunes gens, à la nage! à la nage! »
Crie à ses cavaliers le vieux chef de tribu ;
Et les fils du désert respirent le pillage,
Et les chevaux sont fous du grand air qu'ils ont bu !

Nage ainsi dans l'espace, ô mon cheval rapide,
Abreuve-moi d'air pur, baigne-moi dans le vent ;
L'étrier bat ton ventre, et j'ai lâché la bride.
Mon corps te touche à peine, il vole en te suivant.

Brise tout, le buisson, la barrière ou la branche ;
Torrents, fossés, talus, franchis tout d'un seul bond ;
Cours, je rêve, et sur toi, les yeux clos, je me penche...
Emporte, emporte-moi dans l'inconnu profond!

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by René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907)
4. The gallop
Language: English 
Shake, good horse, your fleeing mane,
That in the air around us filled with voices.
Let me hear creak and snap under your noisy feet
The gravel of streams and the debris of woods.

With the air at your side mixes your hot breath,
To the spark of your feet, your foam, and your blood,
Run, as the eagle flies, brushing against the plain
Whisking the grass in your sonorous and quivering flight.

Let us go! Young men, swimming, swimming,
Cries the old chief of the tribe to his knights,
And the sons of the desert halt the pillaging,
And the horses are crazy from the great air they have breathed.

Swim also in space, o my fast horse,
Shower me with pure air, bathe me in the wind,
The stirrup hits your belly, and I have let slip the bridle.
My body hardly touches yours, it flies, following you.

Break everything, the bush, the fence, or the branch.
Mountain streams, ditches, embankments, cleared in a single bound.
Run, run, I dream and on you, my eyes closed, I hold myself,
Carry me, carry me into the great unknown!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2004 by Ahmed E. Ismail, (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: 

Based on:

Go to the general single-text view


This text was added to the website: 2004-05-08
Line count: 20
Word count: 189

Translation © by Ahmed E. Ismail