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Murmure autour de ma nacelle,
Douce mer dont les flots chéris,
Ainsi qu'une amante fidèle,
Jettent une plainte eternelle
Sur ces poétique débris.
Que j'aime à flotter sur ton onde,
À l'heure où du haut du rocher
L'oranger, la vigne féconde,
Versent sur ta vague profonde
Une ombre propice au nocher!
Souvent, dans ma barque sans rame,
Me confiant à ton amour,
Comme pour assoupir mon âme,
Je ferme au branle de ta lame
Mes regards fatigués du jour.
...
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3 of the original text.
Note: the Unger score has "Jettant" in stanza 1, line 4, word 1, in all repetitions.
Composition:
- Set to music by Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875), "Douce mer", op. 21 no. 14 (1866), published 1873, stanzas 1-3 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vingt mélodies pour chant et piano, no. 14, Paris, Éd. Choudens
Text Authorship:
- by Alphonse Marie Louis de Lamartine (1790 - 1869), "Adieux à la mer", written 1820, appears in Nouvelles méditations poétiques, no. 20
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Stanfield Prichard) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Enrico Magnani) , "Dolce mare", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 90
Word count: 502
Murmur around my skiff, Gentle seas, whose dear waves, Like a faithful lover, Throw an eternal moan Over her poetic debris. How I love to float on your swells, At the hour where from on the top of the rock The orange tree, and the fecund vine, Pour onto that deep billow A favorable shadow for the ferryman! Often, in my boat without oars, Trusting in your love, As if to calm my soul, I close, to the crashing of your waves, My eyes, tired of the day.
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Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3 of the original text.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Stanfield Prichard, (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.
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Alphonse Marie Louis de Lamartine (1790 - 1869), "Adieux à la mer", written 1820, appears in Nouvelles méditations poétiques, no. 20
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This text was added to the website: 2016-02-25
Line count: 15
Word count: 88