Close to this dark grotto

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Tristan L'Hermite François (1601 - 1655)

Translation © by Laura Stanfield Prichard

Auprès de cette grotte sombre

(Sung text for setting by C. Debussy)

See original

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG ENG ENG FIN GER

Auprès de cette grotte sombre
Où l'on respire un air si doux,
L'onde lutte avec les cailloux,
Et la lumière avecque l'ombre.

Ces flots lassés de l'exercice
Qu'ils ont fait dessus de gravier,
Se reposent dans ce vivier
Où mourut autrefois Narcisse.

 ... 

L'ombre de cette fleur vermeille
Et celle de ces joncs pendants
Paraissent être là dedans
Les songes de l'eau qui sommeille.

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

Composition:

Claude Achille Debussy

Le promenoir des deux amants

Text Authorship:

by Tristan L'Hermite François (1601 - 1655), "Le Promenoir des deux amants", written 1638, appears in Les Amours de Tristan, Chez Pierre Billaine, rue St Jacques à Paris, first published 1638

Go to the general single-text view

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

ENG English (Ahmed E. Ismail) , "Take my advice, dear Climene", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Laura Stanfield Prichard) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Stephen Shea) , "I tremble when I see your face", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [an adaptation]
FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Nele Gramß) , copyright © 2007, (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: 112
Word count: 611

Close to this dark grotto

(Sung text translation for setting by C. Debussy)

See original

Language: English after the French (Français)

Close to this dark grotto
Where one breathes air so sweet,
The wave struggles with the stones
And the light with the shadow.

These waves, tired of the gymnastics
That they have performed over this gravel,
Come to rest at this bank
Where once upon a time Narcissus was transformed. 

 ... 

The ghost of this vermillion flower
And that of these hanging rushes
Appear to be present in
The dreams of dozing water.

About the headline (FAQ)

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

Translator's notes
Stanza 2, line 4, word 8 ("transformed"): literally, “died"
Stanza 4, line 1, word 2 ("ghost"): also, “shade, shadow"

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. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Tristan L'Hermite François (1601 - 1655), "Le Promenoir des deux amants", written 1638, appears in Les Amours de Tristan, Chez Pierre Billaine, rue St Jacques à Paris, first published 1638
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

This text was added to the website: 2016-01-01
Line count: 112
Word count: 72