The indolent peacocks, the white peacocks have fled

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by Maurice Maeterlinck (1862 - 1949)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Les paons nonchalants

(Sung text for setting by A. Cogni)

See original

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Les paons nonchalants, les paons blancs ont fui,
Les paons blancs ont fui l'ennui du réveil;
Je ne vois les paons blancs, les paons d'aujourd'hui,
Les paons sont allés pendant mon sommeil,
Les paons nonchalants, les paons d'aujourd'hui,
Atteindre indolents l'étang sans soleil,
J'entends les paons blancs, les paons de l'ennui,
Attendre indolents les temps sans soleil.

¹ Cogni: "Je ne vois"
² Cogni: "sont"

Composition:

Adolfo Cogni

Text Authorship:

by Maurice Maeterlinck (1862 - 1949), "Ennui", appears in Serres chaudes, first published 1889

See other settings of this text.

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

CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Nuda"
ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2017-05-10
Line count: 8
Word count: 58

The Indolent Peacocks

(Sung text translation for setting by A. Cogni)

See original

Language: English after the French (Français)

The indolent peacocks, the white peacocks have fled, 
The white peacocks have fled the ennui of waking;
I do not see the white peacocks, the peacocks of today, 
The peacocks have gone during my sleep, 
The indolent peacocks, the peacocks of today, 
Indolently reaching the sunless pond,
I hear the white peacocks, the peacocks of ennui, 
Indolently awaiting the sunless season.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (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.
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Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Maurice Maeterlinck (1862 - 1949), "Ennui", appears in Serres chaudes, first published 1889
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This text was added to the website: 2026-06-30
Line count: 8
Word count: 61