by
Gabriel Vicaire (1849 - 1900)
Cimetière de campagne
See originalLanguage: French (Français)
J'ai revu le cimetière
Du beau pays d'Ambérieux
Qui m'a fait le cœur joyeux
Pour la vie entière,
Et, sous la mousse et le thym,
Près des arbres de la cure,
J'ai marqué la place obscure
Où, quelque matin,
...
Libre enfin de tout fardeau,
J'irai tranquillement faire
Entre mon père et ma mère
Mon dernier dodo.
Pas d'épitaphe superbe,
Pas le moindre tralala ;
Seulement, par-ci par-là,
Des roses dans l'herbe,
Et de la mousse à foison,
De la luzerne fleurie,
Avec un bout de prairie
A mon horizon.
...
L'église de ma jeunesse,
L'église au blanc badigeon,
Où jadis, petit clergeon,
J'ai servi la messe,
Est encore là tout près
Qui monte sa vieille garde
Et, sans se troubler, regarde
Les rangs de cyprès.
Entouré de tous mes proches,
Sur le bourg, comme autrefois,
j'entendrai courir la voix
Légère des cloches.
Elles ont vu mes vingt ans
Et n'en sont pas plus moroses ;
Elles me diront des choses
Pour passer le temps ;
...
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2,4-6,9-12 of the original text.
Composition:
Set to music by Reynaldo Hahn (1874 - 1947), "Cimetière de campagne", 1893, published 1894, stanzas 1-2,4-6,9-12 [ medium voice and piano ], from Mélodies - 1er volume, no. 12, Paris, Éd. Heugel
Text Authorship:
- by Gabriel Vicaire (1849 - 1900), "Cimetière de campagne ", written 1884, appears in Émaux Bressans, Paris, Éd. Charpentier, first published 1884
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "Country cemetery", copyright © 2000, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 80
Word count: 353
Language: English after the French (Français)
I went back to the cemetery
of lovely Ambérieux,
which gave me
lifelong joy.
Under the moss and thyme,
near the trees by the presbytery,
I found the obscure spot
whither, some morning,
...
Free at last from all my burdens,
I will go
for a last sweet sleep
between my father and mother.
No proud epitaph
or fancy words for me.
Just a few roses
scattered here and there
in the grass, moss,
flowering alfalfa,
and a scrap of field
on my horizon!
...
The church of my youth,
whitewashed,
where I devoutly
served at Mass,
is still there
on guard,
and looking over
the rows of cypress trees.
Surrounded by my loved ones,
once again
I will hear
the sweet voices of the bells over the town.
They knew me when I was twenty!
They have not grown any sadder.
They will tell me
things to pass the time.
...
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2,4-6,9-12 of the original text.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2000 by Faith J. Cormier, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Gabriel Vicaire (1849 - 1900), "Cimetière de campagne ", written 1884, appears in Émaux Bressans, Paris, Éd. Charpentier, first published 1884
Go to the general single-text view
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 80
Word count: 149
