Ah! If you only knew how one cries

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 René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907)

Translation © by Laura Stanfield Prichard

Prière

(Sung text for setting by G. Alary)

See base text

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Ah ! si vous saviez comme on pleure
De vivre seul et sans foyer, 
Quelquefois devant ma demeure 
Vous passeriez. 

Si vous saviez ce que fait naître 
Dans l'âme triste un pur regard, 
Vous regarderiez ma fenêtre 
Comme au hazard. 

Si vous saviez quel baume apporte 
Au coeur la présence d'un cœur, 
Vous vous assoiriez sous ma porte 
Comme une sœur. 

Si vous saviez que je vous aime, 
Surtout si vous saviez comment, 
Vous entreriez peut-être même 
Tout simplement.

Composition:

Giulio Alary

20 Mélodies, Vol. II

Text Authorship:

by René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907), "Prière", written 1872, appears in Les vaines tendresses, no. 2, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1875

See other settings of this text.

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

ENG English (Laura Stanfield Prichard) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Dezső Kosztolányi) , "Könyörgés"

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 81

Ah! If you only knew how one cries

(Sung text translation for setting by G. Alary)

See original

Language: English after the French (Français)

Ah! If you only knew how one cries 
Living alone and without a family, 
Sometimes, in front of my home,
You might choose to pass. 

If you only knew what is ignited 
In a sad soul by a simple look, 
You might choose to glance at my window 
As if by chance. 

If you only knew what balm can be brought 
To one heart by the presence of another heart, 
You might sit down by my door
Like a sister. 

If you only knew that I love you, 
Above everyone else, and if you knew how much, 
You might just come inside
Quite simply.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translator's notes:
Line 1-2: family: literally, a family, household, or hearth
Line 2-2: ignited: literally, is born

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 René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907), "Prière", written 1872, appears in Les vaines tendresses, no. 2, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1875
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

This text was added to the website: 2016-02-08
Line count: 16
Word count: 104