Daoulah

Translations © by Grant Hicks

Song Cycle by Jean Artiguères

View original-language texts alone: Daoulah

1. Son nom  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Si vous voulez savoir le nom de celle que j'ai le plus aimée,
cherchez à vous rappeler le nom de celle qui m'a fait le plus souffrir. 

Si votre mémoire vous trahit ou si vous n'avez pas connu cette femme,
disposez vos lèvres comme pour donner un baiser : 
son nom se prononce ainsi.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, L'édition d'Art H. Piazza, p.136


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
1. Her Name
Language: English 
If you want to know the name of the one I've loved the most, 
try to remember the name of the one who has caused me the most pain. 

If your memory fails you or you haven't met this woman, 
shape your lips as if to bestow a kiss:
that's how her name is pronounced.

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: 5
Word count: 55

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. Après  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Elle s’était endormie dans mes bras.
Pour la protéger contre la fraicheur de la nuit,
j’avais doucement étalé ses cheveux sur ses [seins]1.
Dans l'herbe, autour de nous, les insectes reprenaient un à un leur musique. 
[A cette heure, des mères berçaient aussi]2 leur petite fille...

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le Jardin des caresses, Paris: L'Édition d'Art H. Piazza, 1921, Page 35.

1 Bonhomme: "épaules"
2 Bonhomme: "C'est l'heure où les mères bercent"

by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
3. After
Language: English 
She had fallen asleep in my arms.
To protect her from the chill of the night,
I had gently spread her hair over her [breasts]1.
In the grass around us, the insects one by one resumed their music.
[At that hour, mothers were also rocking]2 their little daughter...

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 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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View text without footnotes
1 Bonhomme: "shoulders"
2 Bonhomme: "It is the hour when mothers rock"


This text was added to the website: 2025-09-13
Line count: 5
Word count: 51

Translation © by Grant Hicks
4. Le Cœur sanglant  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Tu as ri de mes larmes !
Sache que tu es la première devant qui j'ai pleuré.

Jouis de ton triomphe, ne perds pas un instant,
car, cette nuit, je pénétrerai dans ta chambre, 
éclairé par mon poignard, 
et, à l'aube, je jetterai ton cœur aux corbeaux. 

Il aura palpité dans ma main :
l'eau de ma fontaine la purifiera.
Il aura pollué le sable : 
le vent effacera son empreinte.

Corbeaux noirs, 
arrivez de l'horizon pour la curée d'un cœur de femme !
Je vous le lancerai, après y avoir enfermé mon âme.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, Paris: H. Piazza, 1921, p.98.


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
4. The Bloody Heart
Language: English 
You laughed at my tears!
Know that you are the first in front of whom I've cried.

Enjoy your triumph, don't lose a moment,
for tonight I will break into your bedroom,
illuminated by my dagger,
and at dawn I will toss your heart to the crows.

It will have beaten in my hand;
the water of my spring will purify it.
It will have polluted the sand;
the wind will wipe away its traces.

Black crows, 
come from the horizon to feed on a woman's heart! 
I will toss it to you, after I've sealed up my soul inside it.

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: 2026-02-24
Line count: 13
Word count: 101

Translation © by Grant Hicks
5. Inscription  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français) 
Celle qui fut Daoulah repose ici. 
Elle est morte, la troisième nuit de Djemazi-el-Akhir, 
qui est le mois funeste aux fleurs.
Nous l'aimions. Sa bouche était savoureuse.
Si son nom te rappelle que tu l'as caressée, un soir, 
évoque aussi pour elle ce bonheur ancien, 
car le sommeil des morts est sans rêves.

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Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le Jardin des caresses, H. Piazza, Paris : 1921, p.98


by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
5. Inscription
Language: English 
She who was Daoulah rests here. 
She died on the third night of Jumada al-Akhir, 
which is the month of death for flowers. 
We loved her. Her mouth was delicious. 
If her name reminds you that one evening you caressed her,
recall for her as well this ancient pleasure, 
for the sleep of the dead is dreamless.

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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This text was added to the website: 2026-02-22
Line count: 7
Word count: 57

Translation © by Grant Hicks