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by Armand Renaud (1836 - 1895)

Les Cygnes
 (Sung text for setting by C. Saint-Saëns)
 See original
Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  ENG
Ton cœur est un lac d'amour
Dont mes désirs sont les cygnes.
Vois comme ils en font le tour,
Comme ils y creusent des lignes !

Voyageurs aventureux
Ils vont, les ailes ouvertes.
Rien n'est ignoré par eux,
Des flots bleus aux îles vertes.

 ... 

Sans nombre sont ces oiseaux
Que ton âme voit éclore.
Combien déjà sur les eaux,
Et combien à naître encore !

Point de halte ! à tout moment, 
D'arrivants le bord se charge. 
Ceux d'hier pensivement 
S'en vont alors vers le large.

 ... 

Et sur ce miroir béni, 
Sur ce cristal d'eau sans brumes, 
On entend à l'infini 
Frissonner au vent des plumes.

Composition:

    Set to music by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "Les Cygnes", op. 26b no. 7 (1891), published 1892, first performed 1892, stanzas 1-2,5-6,8 [ vocal duet for tenor and contralto, chorus ad libitum, piano or orchestra ], from cantata Nuit persane, no. 7, Éd. Durand

Text Authorship:

  • by Armand Renaud (1836 - 1895), "Les Cygnes", written 1870, appears in Les nuits persanes, in 6. La vallée de l'union, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1870

See other settings of this text.

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

  • ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "The Swans", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 32
Word count: 170

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–Emily Ezust, Founder

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