Songs of the Far East

Translations © by Grant Hicks

Song Cycle by Henk Badings (1907 - 1987)

View original-language texts alone: Chansons orientales

1. L'indifférente
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Sur ma flûte d'ébène, j'ai joué, pour toi,
l'air le plus passionné que je connaissais,
mais tu regardais les pivoines, sans m'écouter.
Puis je t'ai donné une poésie
où j'avais célébré ta beauté,
mais tu l'as déchirée
et tu en as jeté les morceaux dans le lac,
parce qu'il n'avait pas de nénuphars, m'as-tu dit.
Je voulais te donner un merveilleux saphir,
limpide et froid comme une nuit d'hiver,
mais je l'ai gardé pour qu'il me rapelle ton cœur.

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
1. Indifference
 (Sung text translation) See original
Language: English 
On my ebony flute, I played for you 
the most passionate tune I knew, 
but you looked at the peonies without listening to me. 
Then I gave you a poem
in which I'd praised your beauty, 
but you tore it up
and tossed the scraps into the lake, 
because, you said, it had no lily pads. 
I wanted to give you a marvelous sapphire, 
clear and cold as a winter's night, 
but I kept it because it reminds me of your heart.

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:
"Indifférente" = "Indifference"
"L'indifférente" = "Indifference"


This text was added to the website: 2026-04-07
Line count: 11
Word count: 82

Translation © by Grant Hicks
2. La jeune fille nue
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Pour aller retrouver son fiancé, 
sous le grand saule qui est au bord du fleuve,
elle avait mis ses deux plus belles robes.

Lorsque le soleil commença de décliner,
ils causaient encore, tendrement.
Tout à coup, la jeune fille se leva, honteuse,
parce qu'elle n'avait plus sa troisième robe :
l'ombre du saule.

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
2. The Naked Girl
 (Sung text translation) See original
Language: English 
To go to meet her betrothed, 
beneath the large willow at the river's edge, 
she had worn her two finest robes. 

When the sun began to set, 
they were still conversing tenderly.
Suddenly, the girl stood up, ashamed 
because she no longer had her third robe:
the shade of the willow.

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: 2026-04-07
Line count: 8
Word count: 51

Translation © by Grant Hicks
3. Dernière promenade
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Tu as laissé tomber dans la poussière
la tulipe rouge que je t'avais donnée.
Je l'ai ramassée.
Elle était devenue blanche.
En ce bref instant, il avait neigé sur notre amour.

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
3. Last Stroll
Language: English 
You dropped in the dust
the red tulip I'd given you. 
I picked it back up. 
It had become white. 
In that brief instant, it had snowed on 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.
    Contact: 

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Translations of titles:
"Dernière promenade" = "Last Stroll"
"La dernière promenade" = "The Last Stroll"


This text was added to the website: 2026-04-07
Line count: 5
Word count: 30

Translation © by Grant Hicks
4. Sur les bords du Jo‑Yeh
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Sur les bords du Jo-Yeh,
des jeunes filles cueillent des nénuphars.
Parmi les bambous, elles s'interpellent
et se cachent en riant.
L'eau réfléchit leurs belles robes,
qui parfument la brise.

Des cavaliers passent entre les saules de la rive...
Un des chevaux hennit.
Son maître regarde en vain de tous côtés
et puis s'éloigne.
Sur les bords du Jo-Yeh une des jeunes filles
laisse tomber ses nénuphars et comprime son cœur
qui bat à grands coups.

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
4. On the Banks of the Jo-Yeh
 (Sung text translation) See original
Language: English 
On the banks of the Jo-Yeh,
girls are gathering water lilies.
Amidst the bamboo, they call out to each other 
and playfully conceal themselves.
The water reflects their beautiful robes,
which perfume the breeze.

Horsemen ride by beneath the willows of the riverbank ...
One of the horses whinnies.
Its master looks all around in vain
and then moves off.
On the banks of the Jo-Yeh one of the girls 
drops her lilies and presses her hand to her heart,
which is pounding.

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.
    Contact: 

Based on:

Based on:

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This text was added to the website: 2026-04-07
Line count: 13
Word count: 78

Translation © by Grant Hicks