by
Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Language: French (Français)
Our translations: ENG GER ITA
Quand tu chantes, bercée
Le soir entre mes bras,
Entends-tu ma pensée
Qui te répond tout bas ?
Ton doux chant me rappelle
Les plus beaux de mes jours...
Chantez, ma belle !
Chantez toujours !
Quand tu ris, sur ta bouche
L'amour s'épanouit,
Et soudain le farouche
Soupçon s'évanouit.
Ah ! le rire fidèle
Prouve un cœur sans détours ! ... --
Riez, ma belle !
Riez toujours!
Quand tu dors, calme et pure,
Dans l'ombre, sous mes yeux,
Ton haleine murmure
Des mots harmonieux.
Ton beau corps se révèle
Sans voile et sans atours... --
Dormez, ma belle,
Dormez toujours !
...
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3 of the original text.
Composition:
Set to music by Charles Gounod (1818 - 1893), "Sérénade", CG 437 (1855-7), published 1857, stanzas 1-3 [ voice, piano, and harmonium or violoncello ad libitum ], also set in German (Deutsch)
Text Authorship:
- by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), no title, appears in Marie Tudor, Paris: J. Hetzel; Journée 1, Scene 5, first published 1833
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Peter Low) , no title, copyright © 2000-2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- POL Polish (Polski) (Felicjan Faleński) , "Śpiew przy gitarze", subtitle: "Z Wiktora Hugo"
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust
[Administrator] , Garrett Medlock
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 165
Language: English after the French (Français)
When you sing in the evening
cradled in my arms,
can you hear my thoughts
softly answering you?
Your sweet song recalls to me
the happiest days I've known.
Sing, sing, my pretty one,
sing on forever!
When you laugh, love
blossoms on your lips,
Ah, faithful laughter
shows a heart without guile.
Laugh, laugh, my pretty one,
laugh on forever!
When you sleep calm and pure
beneath my gaze, in the shadow,
your breathing murmurs
harmonious words.
Your lovely body is revealed
without veil or finery.
Sleep, sleep, my pretty one,
sleep on forever!
...
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3 of the original text.
Translation of title "Sérénade" = "Serenade"
Note: the stage directions before the first stanza translate as "A guitar is heard and a voice in the distance singing"; the character L'homme says "That is my man"; and then La Voix continues with stage directions that translate to "(The voice comes closer with every stanza)".
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2000-2019 by Peter Low, (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 Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), no title, appears in Marie Tudor, Paris: J. Hetzel; Journée 1, Scene 5, first published 1833
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This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 177
