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Nous sommes venus des grands sables,
où naît le Simoun.
[Nos chevaux enfonçaient jusqu'aux genoux dans de l'or.]1
Des astres, énormes commes des fruits,
nous indiquaient, la nuit, notre route.
Nous sommes venus des grands sables,
où naissent les lions.
Le jour, nos boucliers étaient des soleils en marche.
La nuit, nos lances étaient [fleuries d'étoiles]2.
Nos compagnons qui sont tombés, nous les avons ensevelis debout,
la face [vers]3 l'Occident.
Nous sommes venus des grands sables,
où naquirent les Pharaons,
et leurs mausolées ne nous ont pas fait détourner la tête.
Nous sommes venus des grands sables,
où verdoient [des]4 oasis
plus belles que les Jardins du Paradis,
[et leurs]5 délices ne nous ont pas retenues.
Nous sommes venus des grands sables,
où l'on entend la voix de Dieu.
A. Bonhomme sets stanzas 1-2, 4-5
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, [Paris] H. Piazza, 1921, pages 10-11.
1 omitted by Bonhomme2 Bonhomme: "les étoiles"
3 Bonhomme: "tournée vers"
4 Bonhomme: "les"
5 Bonhomme: "leurs"
Text Authorship:
- by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Le Chant des guerriers", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 8, first published 1921 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Arabic (العربية) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Andrée Marie Clémence Bonhomme (1905 - 1982), "Le chant des guerriers", op. 87 (1941), stanzas 1-2,4-5 [ men's chorus ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Henri Claudien , "Chant des Guerriers", published 1929 [ voice and piano ], Paris (61, avenue de Malakoff) : éditions du Magasin musical Pierre Schneider [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean Déré (1886 - 1970), "Le chant des guerriers", published 1921 [ voice and piano ], from Quatre chants arabes, no. 4, Éd. Maurice Sénart (Salabert) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Fourestier (1892 - 1976), "Le Chant des guerriers", published 1931 [ bass or baritone and piano ], Paris : Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2024-10-27
Line count: 20
Word count: 135
We have come from the great sands, where the Simoom is born. [Our horses sank up to their knees in gold.]1 Stars as big as fruits showed us our route at night We have come from the great sands, where lions are born. During the day, our shields were suns on the march. At night, our spears were [abloom with stars]2. Our fallen comrades we have buried upright, their faces [towards]3 the East. We have come from the great sands, where the Pharaohs were born, and their mausoleums did not make us turn our heads. We have come from the great sands, where [oases]4 grow green, more beautiful than the Gardens of Paradise, [and their]5 delights did not hold us back. We have come from the great sands, where one hears the voice of God.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Translations of titles:
"Chant des Guerriers" = "Song of the Warriors"
"Le chant des guerriers" = "The Song of the Warriors"
1 omitted by Bonhomme
2 Bonhomme: "the stars"
3 Bonhomme: "turned towards"
4 Bonhomme: "the oases"
5 Bonhomme: "their"
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: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Le Chant des guerriers", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 8, first published 1921
Based on:
- a text in Arabic (العربية) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2026-02-25
Line count: 20
Word count: 141