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Si tu savais que je t'adore,
Comme l'étoile aime le ciel,
Comme l'abeille du Mysore
Aime la fleur où naît le miel,
Tu viendrais, à l'heure où le Gange
Au golfe bleu va s'endormir,
Tu viendrais, t'asseoir, ô mon ange,
Sur le balcon de ton émir !
Là, ma douce reine,
Sous la nuit sereine,
Après un beau jour,
Les fleurs ranimées,
Les rives aimées,
Les nuits embaumées,
Tout parle d'amour.
...
Si tu voyais quelle merveille
Change d'un signe de ma main
La jeune fille de la veille
En sultane du lendemain,
Tu croirais demain, ô mon ange,
Que le dieu bleu du firmament
Est revenu sur notre Gange
Avec le nom de ton amant !
Là, ma douce reine, etc.
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1,3 of the original text.
Composition:
- Set to music by Charles Marie Jean Albert Widor (1844 - 1937), "Chanson indienne", stanzas 1,3 [ high voice and piano ], from Quarante mélodies, no. 31, Éd. J. Hamelle
Text Authorship:
- by François Joseph Pierre André Méry (1798 - 1865), "L'Émir de Bengador", appears in Mélodies poétiques, Paris, Éd. Victor Lecou, first published 1853
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Peter Low) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Amy Pfrimmer) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Amy Pfrimmer
This text was added to the website: 2017-06-30
Line count: 42
Word count: 224
If you knew that I adore you,
as the star loves the sky,
as the bees of Mysore
love the flower where honey is born,
you would come, at the hour when the Ganges
goes to the blue gulf to sleep,
you would come, and sit down, oh my angel,
under your emir's rosebushes!
There, my sweet queen,
in the serene night
after a beautiful day,
the revitalized flowers,
the beloved rivers,
the fragrant nights,
everything speaks of love.
...
If you knew by what miracle
a sign of my hand can change
a poor girl one day
into a sultana the next,
you would believe, oh my angel,
that the blue god of the firmament
has descended onto our Ganges
bearing the name of your lover!
There, my sweet queen, etc.
About the headline (FAQ)
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1,3 of the original text.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2022 by Peter Low, (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.
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by François Joseph Pierre André Méry (1798 - 1865), "L'Émir de Bengador", appears in Mélodies poétiques, Paris, Éd. Victor Lecou, first published 1853
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This text was added to the website: 2022-06-16
Line count: 42
Word count: 246
