When you sing in the evening

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by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)

Translation © by Peter Low

Quand tu chantes, bercée

(Sung text for setting by F. Liszt)

See original

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 me dis: Je t'aime !
   Ô ma beauté ! je croi !
   Je crois que le ciel même
   S'ouvre au-dessus de moi !
   Ton regard étincelle
   Du beau feu des amours... --
     Aimez, ma belle,
     Aimez toujours !

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1,4 of the original text.

Composition:

Franz (Ferenc) Liszt

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

When you sing, cradled

(Sung text translation for setting by F. Liszt)

See original

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 say 'I love you',
oh my beauty, I believe!
I think that heaven itself
is opening above me!
Your eyes sparkle
with love's beautiful fire...
Love,love, my pretty one,
love on forever!

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1,4 of the original text.

Notes
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: 176