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I
L'aurore s'allume ;
L'ombre épaisse fuit ;
Le rêve et la brume
Vont où va la nuit ;
Paupières et roses
S'ouvrent demi-closes ;
Du réveil des choses
On entend le bruit.
Tout chante et murmure,
Tout parle à la fois,
Fumée et verdure,
Les nids et les toits ;
Le vent parle aux chênes,
L'eau parle aux fontaines ;
Toutes les haleines
Deviennent des voix !
Tout reprend son âme,
L'enfant son hocher,
Le foyer sa flamme,
Le luth son archet ;
Folie ou démence,
Dans le monde immense,
Chacun recommence
Ce qu'il ébauchait.
Qu'on pense ou qu'on aime,
Sans cesse agité,
Vers un but suprême,
Tout vole emporté ;
L'esquif cherche un môle,
L'abeille un vieux saule,
La boussole un pôle,
Moi la vérité.
...
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-4 of the original text.
Composition:
- Set to music by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "Le matin", c1864, stanzas 1-4 [ medium voice and piano ]
Text Authorship:
- by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), no title, written 1834, appears in Les Chants du Crépuscule, no. 20
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Linda Godry) , "Aurora catches fire", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Amy Pfrimmer) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 139
Word count: 502
I
Aurora catches fire,
the dense shadows vanish;
the dream and the fumes
go where the night goes;
Eyelids and roses
Open just a bit;
You awaken to things,
You notice sounds.
All is singing and murmur,
All are simultaneously talking,
Smoke and foliage,
Nests and rooftops;
The wind whispers to the oaks,
The water to the fountains;
Gasps for breath
Become voices!
All pluck up some courage,
The baby its rattle,
The hearth its flame,
The lute its bow;
Folly or madness,
In the whole world
Everybody starts with whatever
he wants to give a try.
Whether you think or love,
Always on the run,
Toward a higher goal,
high priority projects only;
the boat looks for a jetty,
the bee an old willow
the compass needle its pole,
I the truth.
...
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-4 of the original text.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2006 by Linda Godry, (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), no title, written 1834, appears in Les Chants du Crépuscule, no. 20
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This text was added to the website: 2006-12-07
Line count: 139
Word count: 210