by François Joseph Pierre André Méry (1798 - 1865)
Translation © by Amy Pfrimmer

Chanson indienne
 (Sung text for setting by C. Widor)
 See original
Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  ENG ENG
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.

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Text Authorship:

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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

Language: English  after the French (Français) 
If you knew that I adore you, 
as the star loves the sky,
Like the bee of Mysore 
loves the flower where honey is born,
You would come, when the Ganges 
in the blue gulf goes to sleep,
You would come and sit, oh my angel, 
on the balcony of your emir!
There, my sweet queen, 
under the serene night, 
after a beautiful day, 
fresh flowers,
Beloved shores, 
fragrant nights, 
everything speaks of love.

 ... 

If you saw what a marvelous change 
I could make with only a wave of my hand
Changing the young girl of yesterday 
into a sultana of tomorrow,
You would believe tomorrow, oh my angel, 
that the blue god of the firmament
Is returning to our Ganges 
with the name of your lover!
There, my sweet queen, etc.

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1,3 of the original text.

Note: this is a translation of Widor's version.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2023 by Amy Pfrimmer, (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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This text was added to the website: 2023-06-05
Line count: 42
Word count: 132