The boat is small and the sea immense

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by Pierre-Jules-Théophile Gautier (1811 - 1872)

Translation © by Gregory Ristow

Prière de matelots

(Sung text for setting by C. Fournier)

See original

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: CHI ENG

La barque est petite et la mer immense,
La vague nous jette au ciel en courroux,
Le ciel nous renvoie au flot en démence:
Près du mât rompu prions à genoux!
 
De nous à la tombe il n'est qu'une planche:
Peut-être ce soir, dans un lit amer,
Sous un froid linceul, fait d'écume blanche,
Irons-nous dormir, veillés par l'éclair!
 
Fleur du paradis, sainte Notre-Dame,
Si bonne aux marins en péril de mort,
Apaise le vent, fais tomber la lame,
Et pousse du doigt notre esquif au port.
 
Nous te donnerons, si tu nous délivres,
Une belle robe en papier d'argent,
Un cierge à festons pesant quatre livres,
Et, pour ton Jésus, un petit Saint-Jean.

First published April 1844 in the revue L'Artiste

Composition:

Camille Fournier

Chansons de jeunesse

Text Authorship:

by Pierre-Jules-Théophile Gautier (1811 - 1872), title 1: "La tempête", title 2: "Pendant la tempête", written 1840, appears in España, first published 1845

See other settings of this text.

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

CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "V bouři"
ENG English (Gregory Ristow) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
POL Polish (Polski) (Bronisława Ostrowska) , "W Burzy. Modlitwa", Kraków, first published 1911

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-12-06
Line count: 16
Word count: 115

The boat is small and the sea immense

(Sung text translation for setting by C. Fournier)

See original

Language: English after the French (Français)

The boat is small and the sea immense,
The wave throws us skywards in ire,
The sky flings us at the tide in madness,
By the worn out mast we pray on our knees!
 
Between us and the tomb is but one plank:
Maybe tonight, in a bitter bed,
Under a cold shroud of white foam,
We will sleep, looked after by lightning!
 
Flower of paradise, holy Mother,
So good to imperiled sailors,
Appease the wind, silence the wave,
And nudge with a finger our skiff to port.
 
We will give you, if you deliver us,
A beautiful robe of silver foil,
A festooned, four-pound candle
And for your Jesus, a St. Jean miniature.

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Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Gregory Ristow, (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 Pierre-Jules-Théophile Gautier (1811 - 1872), title 1: "La tempête", title 2: "Pendant la tempête", written 1840, appears in España, first published 1845
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This text was added to the website: 2016-01-28
Line count: 16
Word count: 114