French (Français) translation of The cuckoo and the owl

by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "The cuckoo and the owl" [ high voice and piano ], from Shakespeare Songs, Book VII, no. 3

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When daisies pied and violets blue
 [And lady-smocks all silver white,
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue]1,
  Do paint the meadows with delight,
The cuckoo, then on ev'ry tree
Mocks married men, for thus sings he,
  Cuckoo,
Cuckoo, cuckoo: o word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear.

When shepherds pipe on oaten straws,
  And merry larks are ploughmen's clocks,
[When]2 turtles tread, and rooks, and daws,
  And maidens bleach their summer [smocks]3,
The cuckoo, then on ev'ry tree
Mocks married men, for thus sings he,
  Cuckoo,
Cuckoo, cuckoo: o word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear.

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1 Stravinsky: "And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue,/ And lady-smocks all silver white"
2 Arne: "And"
3 Arne: "frocks"

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
When icicles hang by the wall
And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in pail;
When blood is nipt and ways be foul,
Then nightly sings the staring owl:
Tu-who! 
Tu-whit! Tu-who! -- A merry note!
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

When all aloud the wind doth blow,
And coughing drowns the parson's saw,
And birds sit brooding in the snow,
And Marian's nose looks red and raw;
When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl
Then nightly sings the staring owl:
Tu-who! 
Tu-whit! Tu-who! -- A merry note!
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

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Researcher for this page: Clive Robinson
Author(s): William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Quand les pâquerettes diaprées et les violettes bleues
Et les cressons argentés
Et les primevères de couleur jaune
Émaillent de leurs grâces les prés,
Le coucou alors, d’arbre en arbre,
Se moque des maris, car il chante :
Coucou !
CoucouI Coucou !… Ô mot sinistre,
Malsonnant à une oreille mariée !

Quand les bergers embouchent les chalumeaux d’avoine
Et que les gaies alouettes servent d’horloges aux laboureurs,
Quand s’accouplent les tourterelles, les grolles et les corneilles
Et que les filles blanchissent leurs jupes au soleil
Le coucou alors, d’arbre en arbre,
Se moque des maris, car il chante :
Coucou !
Coucou ! Coucou !…  Ô mot sinistre,
Malsonnant à une oreille mariée !

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 by Guy Laffaille, (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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Quand les glaçons pendent au mur,
Et que Dick le berger souffle dans ses ongles,
Et que Tom porte des bûches au vestibule,
Et que le lait arrive gelé dans la jatte,
Quand le sang se fige et que la route est noire,
Alors, la chouette hagarde chante dans la nuit :
Touhou !
Touhouit ! Touhou ! Joyeuse note,
Tandis que la grasse Jeanne écume le pot.

Quand tout haut le vent souffle,
Et que la toux noie le sermon du curé,
Et que les oiseaux sont perchés dans la neige,
Et que le nez de Marianne est d’un rouge cru,
Quand les pommes rôties sifflent sur le feu,
Alors la chouette hagarde chante dans la nuit :
Touhou !
Touhouit ! Touhou ! Joyeuse note,
Tandis que la grasse Jeanne écume le pot.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 by Guy Laffaille, (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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Translation © by Guy Laffaille