by
Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Language: French (Français)
Quels sont ces bruits sourds ?
Écoutez vers l'onde
Cette voix profonde
Qui pleure toujours
Et qui toujours gronde,
Quoiqu'un son plus clair
Parfois l'interrompe... —
Le vent de la mer
Souffle dans sa trompe !
Comme il pleut ce soir !
N'est-ce pas, mon hôte ?
Là-bas, à la côte,
Le ciel est bien noir,
La mer est bien haute !
On dirait l'hiver ;
Parfois on s'y trompe... —
Le vent de la mer
Souffle dans sa trompe.
Oh ! marins perdus !
Au loin, dans cette ombre,
Sur la nef qui sombre,
Que de bras tendus
Vers la terre sombre !
Pas d'ancre de fer
Que le flot ne rompe... —
Le vent de la mer
Souffle dans sa trompe.
...
C'est toi, c'est ton feu
Que le nocher rêve,
Quand le flot s'élève,
Chandelier que Dieu
Pose sur la grève,
Phare au rouge éclair
Que la brume estompe... —
Le vent de la mer
Souffle dans sa trompe.
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3,5 of the original text.
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust
[Administrator] , Grant Hicks
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 45
Word count: 191
Language: English after the French (Français)
What are these dull sounds?
Listen, from the waves
There comes a deep voice
That forever weeps,
And forever groans,
Though a clearer sound
At times interrupts... —
The wind from the sea
Blows on its trumpet!
Such a rain tonight!
Is it not, my guest?
Far off, on the coast,
How black the sky is,
And how high the sea!
You might say Winter;
But be mistaken... —
The wind from the sea
Blows on its trumpet.
Oh! lost seafarers!
Far off, in shadow,
On the sinking ship,
How many arms stretched
Towards the dark land!
No iron anchor
Left whole by the flood... —
The wind from the sea
Blows on its trumpet.
...
Of you, of your fire
Is the boatman's dream,
When the flood rises,
Candlestick that God
Has placed on the shore,
Beacon of red light
Obscured by the mist... —
The wind from the sea
Blows on its trumpet.
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Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3,5 of the original text.
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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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), "Une nuit qu'on entendait la mer sans la voir", written 1836, appears in Les voix intérieures, no. 24, first published 1837
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This text was added to the website: 2025-11-18
Line count: 45
Word count: 195
