Children of a day, oh newborns

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by Alphonse Daudet (1840 - 1897)

Translation © by Qi Feng Wu

Petits enfants

(Sung text for setting by Paladilhe)

See original

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Enfants d'un jour, ô nouveau-nés,
Petites bouches, petits nez, 
Petites lèvres demi-closes,
Membres tremblants,
Si frais, si blancs,
Si roses ;

Enfants d'un jour, ô nouveau-nés,
Pour le bonheur que vous donnez, 
À vous voir dormir dans les langes,
Espoir des nids,
Soyez bénis,
Chers anges!

 ... 

Enfants d'un jour, ô nouveau-nés, 
Au paradis, d'où vous venez, 
Un léger fil d'or vous rattache
À ce fil d'or
Tient l'âme encor
Sans tache.

Vous êtes à toute maison 
Ce que la fleur est au gazon, 
Ce qu'au ciel est l'étoile blanche,
Ce qu'un peu d'eau
Est au roseau 
Qui penche ;

Mais vous avez de plus encor 
Ce que n'a pas l'étoile d'or, 
Ce qui manque aux fleurs les plus belles :
Malheur à nous !
Vous avez tous
Des ailes !

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2,7-9 of the original text.

Composition:

Émile Paladilhe

Vingt mélodies pour chant

Text Authorship:

by Alphonse Daudet (1840 - 1897), "Aux petits enfants", written 1858, appears in Les amoureuses, poèmes et fantaisies, no. 1

See other settings of this text.

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

ENG English (Qi Feng Wu) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Bertram Kottmann

This text was added to the website: 2013-07-26
Line count: 54
Word count: 224

Children of a day, oh newborns

(Sung text translation for setting by Paladilhe)

See original

Language: English after the French (Français)

Children of a day, oh newborns,
Little mouths, little noses, 
Little half-closed lips,
trembling limbs,
So fresh, so white,
So pink;

Children of a day, oh newborns,
For the happiness you give, 
To see you sleep in swaddling clothes,
Hope of nests,
Bless you,
Dear angels!

 ... 

Children of a day, oh newborns, 
In paradise, from whence you came, 
A light golden thread binds you
To this golden thread
Holding the soul yet
Unblemished.

You are to every home 
What the flower is to the grass, 
What the white star is to heaven,
What a little water
Is to the reed 
That bends;

But you have more of
What the golden star lacks, 
What the fairest flower lacks:
Woe to us!
You have all
Of the wings!

About the headline (FAQ)

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2,7-9 of the original text.

Translator's note for stanza 2, line 4: referring to eggs about to hatch

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2023 by Qi Feng Wu, (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 Alphonse Daudet (1840 - 1897), "Aux petits enfants", written 1858, appears in Les amoureuses, poèmes et fantaisies, no. 1
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This text was added to the website: 2023-08-25
Line count: 54
Word count: 224