Stanzas of Love and Dreams

Translations © by Amy Pfrimmer

Song Cycle by Louis Vierne (1870 - 1937)

View original-language texts alone: Stances d'amour et de rêve

1. Les chaînes
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
J'ai voulu tout aimer, et je suis malheureux,
Car j'ai de mes tourments multiplié les causes ;
D'innombrables liens frêles et douloureux
Dans l'univers entier vont de mon âme aux choses.

Tout m'attire à la fois et d'un attrait pareil :
Le vrai par ses lueurs, l'inconnu par ses voiles ;
Un trait d'or frémissant joint mon cœur au soleil,
Et de longs fils soyeux l'unissent aux étoiles.

La cadence m'enchaîne à l'air mélodieux,
La douceur du velours aux roses que je touche ;
D'un sourire j'ai fait la chaîne de mes yeux,
Et j'ai fait d'un baiser la chaîne de ma bouche.

Ma vie est suspendue à ces fragiles nœuds,
Et je suis le captif des mille êtres que j'aime :
Au moindre ébranlement qu'un souffle cause en eux
Je sens un peu de moi s'arracher de moi-même.

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by René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907)
1. The chains
Language: English 
I wanted to love everything, and I am miserable, 
For my torments have multiple causes; 
Innumerable frail and painful links 
Within the entire universe they are connected to my soul.  

Everything attracts me at once and has the same attraction: 
The truth by its light, the unknown by its shadows; 
A trembling streak of gold joins my heart to the sun, 
And long silky threads tie it to the stars.  

The cadence enchaines me to the melodious tune, 
The softness of velvet to the roses that I touch; 
With a smile my eyes were fastened, 
And with a kiss I made the chain to my mouth.  

My life is suspended by these fragile knots, 
And I am the captive of the thousand beings I love: 
At the slightest trembling that a breath causes in them 
I feel a little bit of myself torn away.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2020 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.
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This text was added to the website: 2020-02-29
Line count: 16
Word count: 144

Translation © by Amy Pfrimmer
2. Chanson de mer  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Ton sourire infini m'est cher
Comme le divin pli des ondes,
Et je te crains quand tu me grondes,
           Comme la mer.

L'azur de tes grands yeux m'est cher :
C'est un lointain que je regarde
Sans cesse et sans y prendre garde,
           Un ciel de mer.

Ton courage léger m'est cher :
C'est un souffle vif où ma vie
S'emplit d'aise et se fortifie,
           L'air de la mer.

Enfin ton être entier m'est cher,
Toujours nouveau, toujours le même ;
O ma Néréide, je t'aime
           Comme la mer !

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by René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907)
2. Song of the sea
Language: English 
Your infinite smile is dear to me 
Like the divine fold of the waves, 
And I fear you when you scold me, 
Like the sea.  

The azure-blue of your great eyes is precious to me: 
I am looking at a distance 
Without ceasing and without caution, 
A sky of the sea.  

Your light courage is dear to me: 
It's an intense breath where my life 
Fills with pleasure and it strengthens, 
The air of the sea.  

Finally your whole being is dear to me, 
Always new, always the same; 
O my néréide, I love you 
Like the sea!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2020 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.
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Translator's note for stanza 4, line 3 - "néréide" = "sea nymph"



This text was added to the website: 2020-02-29
Line count: 16
Word count: 98

Translation © by Amy Pfrimmer
3. À l'hirondelle  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Toi qui peux monter solitaire 
Au ciel, sans gravir les sommets, 
Et dans les vallons de la terre 
Descendre sans tomber jamais ; 

Toi qui, sans te pencher au fleuve 
Où nous ne puisons qu'à genoux, 
Peux aller boire, avant qu'il ne pleuve, 
Au nuage trop haut pour nous ; 

Toi qui pars au déclin des roses 
Et reviens au nid printanier, 
Fidèle aux deux meilleures choses,
L'indépendance et le foyer ;

Comme toi, mon âme s'élève 
Et tout à coup rase le sol, 
Et suit avec l'aile du rêve 
Les beaux méandres de ton vol. 

S'il lui faut aussi des voyages, 
Il lui faut son nid chaque jour ;
Elle a tes deux besoins sauvages : 
Libre vie, immuable amour.

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Sully Prudhomme de l'Académie française: Poésies (1865-1867), Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1883, pages 21-22.


by René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907)
3. To the Swallow
Language: English 
You who can ascend alone 
In the heavens, without mounting the summits, 
And in the valleys of the earth 
Descend without ever falling;  

You who, without bending over the river 
Where we only draw water kneeling, 
Can go drink before it rains, 
In the cloud too high for us; 
 
You who leave when roses fade
And come back to the spring nest, 
True to the two best things, 
Independence and the home;  

Like you, my soul rises 
And suddenly brushes the ground, 
And follows with a dream on the wing
The beautiful twists and turns of your flight. 

If it also needs journeys, 
It needs its nest every day; 
It has your two untamed needs: 
Free life, unchanging love.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2020 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.
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Translator's note for stanza 5, line 1 - "it" here refers to the soul.



This text was added to the website: 2020-02-29
Line count: 20
Word count: 119

Translation © by Amy Pfrimmer
4. Ressemblance
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Vous désirez savoir de moi
D'où me vient pour vous ma tendresse.
Je vous aime, voici pourquoi:
Vous ressemblez à ma jeunesse.

Vos yeux noirs sont mouillés souvent
Par l'espérance et la tristesse
Et vouz allez toujours rêvant:
Vous ressemblez à ma jeunesse.

Votre tête est de marbre pur
Faite pour le ciel de la Grèce
Où la blancheur luit dans l'azur:
Vous ressemblez à ma jeunesse.

Je vous tends chaque jour la main
Vous offrant l'amour qui m'oppresse;
Mais vous passez votre chemin,
Vous ressemblez à ma jeunesse.

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by René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907)
4. Resemblance
Language: English 
You want to know about me
Where does my tenderness for you come from?
I love you, here is why:
You resemble my youth.

Your black eyes are often wet 
From hope and sadness
And you always go dreaming:
You resemble my youth.

Your head is of pure marble
Made for the sky of Greece
Where your whiteness shines in the azure:
You resemble my youth.

I reach out to you every day
Offering you the love that oppresses me;
But you pass by on your way,
You resemble my youth.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2020 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.
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This text was added to the website: 2020-02-29
Line count: 16
Word count: 91

Translation © by Amy Pfrimmer
5. Le galop
 (Sung text)
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 !

 ... 

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)
5. The gallop
Language: English 
Shake good horse, your fleeing mane,
Let the air around us fill with voices!
Let me hear the gravel from streams and the debris of the woods 
Crack under your noisy hooves

Your hot breath, is mixed with the vapors of your flanks 
Your lather and your blood with the lightning of your feet,!
Run like we see an eagle, grazing the plain,
Whip the grass with a loud and trembling flight!

[ ... ]

Like this, swim in the space, oh my swift horse,
Let me drink the fresh air, bathe me in the wind;
The stirrup beats your belly, and I let go of the bridle.
My body barely touches you, it flies following you.

Break everything, the bush, the fence or the branch;
Torrents, ditches, embankments, all crossed in one leap;
Run, I dream, and on you, eyes closed, I lean...
Take me, take me away into the deep unknown!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2020 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: 

Based on:

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This text was added to the website: 2020-02-29
Line count: 20
Word count: 150

Translation © by Amy Pfrimmer