The sun set this evening in the clouds

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by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)

Translation © by Amy Pfrimmer

Soleil couchant

(Sung text for setting by J. Massenet)

See original

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Le soleil s'est couché ce soir dans les nuées;
Demain viendra l'orage et le soir et la nuit;
Puis l'aube, et ses clartés de vapeurs obstruées!
Puis les nuits, puis les jours, pas du temps qui s'enfuit!

Tous ces jours passeront; ils passeront en foule
Sur la face des mers, sur la face des monts,
Sur les fleuves d'argent, sur les forêts, où roule
Comme un hymne confus des morts que nous aimons.

 ... 

Mais moi, sous chaque jour courbant plus bas ma tête,
Je passe et, refroidi sous ce soleil joyeux,
Je m'en irai bientôt, au milieu de la fête,
Sans que rien manque au monde immense et radieux!

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2,4 of the original text.

Composition:

Jules Massenet

Text Authorship:

by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), no title, written 1829, appears in Les Feuilles d'automne, in 35. Soleils couchants, no. 6

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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

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: 16
Word count: 146

The sun set this evening in the clouds

(Sung text translation for setting by J. Massenet)

See original

Language: English after the French (Français)

The sun set this evening in the clouds;
Tomorrow will come the storm and the evening and the night;
Then dawn, and its obscure haze!
Then the nights, then the days, no time fleeing!

All these days will pass; they will pass in droves
On the face of the seas, on the face of the waters,
On the silver rivers, on the forests, floating by
Like an indistinct hymn of the departed we love.

 ... 

But I, each day bowing my head lower,
I pass and, cooled under this joyous sun,
I'll be leaving soon, in the middle of the celebration,
Without anything missing from the immense and radiant world!

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Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2,4 of the original text.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2023 by Amy Pfrimmer, (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 1829, appears in Les Feuilles d'automne, in 35. Soleils couchants, no. 6
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This text was added to the website: 2023-06-05
Line count: 16
Word count: 135