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by Louis Charles Alfred de Musset (1810 - 1857)

Tristesse
 (Sung text for setting by F. Liszt)
 See original
Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  ENG
J'ai perdu ma force et ma vie,
 ...  mes amis et ma gaieté ;
J'ai perdu jusqu'à la fierté
Qui faisait croire à mon génie.

Quand j'ai connu la Vérité,
J'ai cru que c'était une amie ;
Quand je l'ai comprise, quand je l'ai sentie,
J'en étais déjà dégoûté.

Et pourtant elle est éternelle,
Et ceux qui se sont passés d'elle
Ici-bas ont tout ignoré.

Dieu parle, il faut qu'on lui réponde.
Le seul bien qui me reste au monde
Est d'avoir quelquefois pleuré.

First published in La Revue des deux mondes, December 1, 1841, and then in Poésies nouvelles, 1850.

Composition:

    Set to music by Franz (Ferenc) Liszt (1811 - 1886), "Tristesse", S. 327 (1872), published 1879 [ medium voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kahnt, also set in German (Deutsch)

Text Authorship:

  • by Louis Charles Alfred de Musset (1810 - 1857), "Tristesse", written 1840, appears in Poésies nouvelles, first published 1841

See other settings of this text.

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

  • ENG English (Garrett Medlock) , copyright © 2019, (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: 14
Word count: 83

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