by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translation by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

Quand tu chantes, bercée
Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  ENG GER ITA
[ ... ]

  Quand tu dors, calme et pure,
   Dans l'ombre, sous mes yeux,
   Ton haleine murmure
   Des mots harmonieux.
   Ton beau corps se révèle
   Sans voile et sans atours... --
     Dormez, ma belle,
     Dormez toujours !

   Quand tu me dis: Je t'aime !
   Ô ma beauté ! je croi !
   Je crois que le ciel même
   S'ouvre au-dessus de moi !
   Ton regard étincelle
   Du beau feu des amours... --
     Aimez, ma belle,
     Aimez toujours !

[ ... ]

C. Gounod sets stanzas 1-3
F. Liszt sets stanzas 1, 4
H. Kjerulf sets stanza 3 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
J. Weckerlin sets stanzas 4-5

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Victor Hugo, Marie Tudor. La Esmerelda, Paris: J. Hetzel, 1833, Journée I, Scène v, pages 27-28; and with Œuvres de Victor Hugo, Volume 1, Bruxelles, J. P. Meline, 1836, pages 735-736. Before the first stanza, the stage directions say "On entend une guitare et une voix éloignée qui chante:", and after the first stanza the character L'homme says "C'est mon homme." (this is not part of any song setting). After that, the voice (La Voix) continues with the stage direction "Elle s'approche à chaque couplet." and the rest of the song follows.

1 Gounod: "Et soudain le farouche / Soupçon s'évanouit."

Text Authorship:

  • by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), no title, appears in Marie Tudor, Paris: J. Hetzel; Journée 1, Scene 5, first published 1833

See other settings of this text.

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

  • ENG English (Peter Low) , no title, copyright © 2000-2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Amelia Maria Imbarrato) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • POL Polish (Polski) (Felicjan Faleński) , "Śpiew przy gitarze", subtitle: "Z Wiktora Hugo"


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 165

Language: Russian (Русский)  after the French (Français) 
 ... 

Когда ты сном спокойным
Мой услаждаешь взор,
В твоем дыханье знойном
Слов мелодичный хор.
Раскинулась всевластно
Земная красота.
Дремли, дремли, прекрасная,
Дремли, дремли всегда.

Когда, мой друг прелестный,
«Люблю», - ты шепчешь мне,
Я вижу свод небесный
В полночной тишине.
Туманит взор твой страстный
Хмельней вина тогда.
Люби, люби, прекрасная,
Пьяни, пьяни всегда!

 ...

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Note on Transliterations

Composition:

Text Authorship:

  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

Based on:

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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2021-08-28
Line count: 40
Word count: 53