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Près du pêcheur qui ruisselle,
Quand tous deux, au jour baissant,
Nous errons dans la nacelle,
Laissant chanter l'homme frêle
Et gémir le flot puissant;
2. Sous l'abri que font les voiles
Lorsque nous nous asseyons,
Dans cette ombre où tu te voiles
Quand ton regard aux étoiles
Semble cueillir des rayons;
3. Quand tous deux nous croyons lire
Ce que la nature écrit,
Réponds, ô toi que j'admire,
D'où vient que mon coeur soupire?
D'où vient que ton front sourit?
4. Dis, d'où vient qu'à chaque lame
Comme une coupe de fiel,
La pensée emplit mon âme?
C'est que moi je vois la rame
Tandis que tu vois le ciel!
5. C'est que je vois les flots sombres,
Toi, les astres enchantés!
C'est que, perdu dans leurs nombres,
Hélas! je compte les ombres
Quand tu comptes les clartés!
...
24. Que sur la vague troublée
J'abaisse un sourcil hagard;
Mais toi, belle âme voilée,
Vers l'espérance étoilée
Lève un tranquille regard!
25. Tu fais bien. Vois les cieux luire.
Vois les astres s'y mirer.
Un instinct là-haut t'attire.
Tu regardes Dieu sourire;
Moi, je vois l'homme pleurer!
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-5, 24-25 of the original text.
Composition:
- Set to music by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "Soirée en mer", op. 13 no. 1 (1862), published 1864, stanzas 1-5, 24-25 [ voice and piano ]
Text Authorship:
- by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), "Soirée en mer", written 1836, appears in Les voix intérieures, no. 17
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Barbara Miller) , "Evening on the sea", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (José Miguel Llata) , "Atardecer en el mar", copyright © 2020, (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: 125
Word count: 664
Near the fisherman who is rowing,
While we both, in the dying day,
Wander in the little boat,
Letting the frail man sing
And the powerful wave groan;
2. Under the shelter that the sails make
While we sit
In this shadow where you veil yourself
When your gaze at the stars
Seems to gather rays of light;
3. When we both think to read
What nature writes,
Answer, o you, whom I admire!
How come my heart sighs?
How come your countenance smiles?
4. Say, how come at each swell,
Like a cup of bile,
Thought fills my soul?
It is that I, I see the rowing,
While you see heaven!
5. It is that I see the dark waves,
You, the enchanted stars!
It is that, lost in their numbers,
Alas, I count the shadows,
While you count the lights!
...
24. That on the troubled wave
I lower a crazed brow
But you, a beautiful veiled soul,
Toward star-filled hope
Raises a calm expression!
25. You do well, see the heaven shine,
See the stars reflected there.
An instinct toward the higher draws you,
You see God smile;
Me, I see man weep!
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-5, 24-25 of the original text.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2004 by Barbara Miller, (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), "Soirée en mer", written 1836, appears in Les voix intérieures, no. 17
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This text was added to the website: 2004-04-18
Line count: 125
Word count: 725