Pastoral Song | We must sing a pastoral song, invoke Pan

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by Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs

Translation © by Marvin J. Ward

Chant pastoral

(Sung text for setting by C. Debussy)

See original

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG GER

Il faut chanter un chant pastoral, invoquer 
Pan, dieu du vent d'été.  Je garde mon 
troupeau et Sélénis le sien, à l'ombre ronde 
d'un olivier qui tremble.

Sélénis est couchée sur le pré. Elle se
lève et court, ou cherche des cigales, ou 
cueille des fleurs avec des herbes, ou lave 
son visage dans l'eau fraîche du ruisseau.

Moi, j'arrache la laine au dos blond des 
moutons pour en garnir ma quenouille, et je 
file. Les heures sont lentes. Un aigle 
passe dans le ciel.

L'ombre tourne: changeons de place la corbeille 
de fleurs et la jarre de lait. 
Il faut chanter un chant pastoral, 
invoquer Pan, dieu du vent d'été.

Composition:

Claude Achille Debussy

Chansons de Bilitis

Text Authorship:

by Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs, "Chant pastoral", appears in Les Chansons de Bilitis, in Bucoliques en Pamphylie, no. 2

See other settings of this text.

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

ENG English (Marvin J. Ward) , "Pastoral Song", copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Hirtenlied", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Marvin J. Ward

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 112

Pastoral Song

(Sung text translation for setting by C. Debussy)

See original

Language: English after the French (Français)

We must sing a pastoral song, invoke Pan, 
god of the summer wind. I watch my flock 
and Sélénis watches hers, in the round
shade of a trembling olive tree.

Sélénis is lying in the meadow. 
She rises and runs, or searches for grasshoppers, 
or gathers flowers with grasses, 
or washes her face in the cool water of the brook.

And I, I tear the wool from the blond backs of the sheep 
to fill up my distaff, and I spin. 
The hours pass too slowly. 
An eagle passes in the sky.

The shade turns, let us move the basket 
of flowers and the jar of milk. 
We must sing a pastoral song, 
invoke Pan, god of the summer wind.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2003 by Marvin J. Ward, (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 Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs, "Chant pastoral", appears in Les Chansons de Bilitis, in Bucoliques en Pamphylie, no. 2
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This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 121