by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936)
Translation by Louis Fabulet (1862 - 1933) and by Robert, vicomte d'Humières (1868 - 1915)
I will remember what I was, I am sick of...
Language: English
I will remember what I was, I am sick of rope and chain -- I will remember my old strength and all my forest affairs. I will not sell my back to man for a bundle of sugar-cane: I will go out to my own kind, and the wood-folk in their lairs. I will go out until the day, until the morning break -- Out to the wind's untainted kiss, the water's clean caress; I will forget my ankle-ring and snap my picket stake. I will revisit my lost loves, and playmates masterless!
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Text Authorship:
- by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936), appears in The Jungle Book, in Toomai of the Elephants, first published 1894
Go to the general single-text view
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-02-13
Line count: 8
Word count: 91
Chant de Kala Nag See original
Language: French (Français) after the English
Je me souviens de qui je fus. ...
Je me souviens de ma forêt et de ma vigeur ancienne.
J'ai brisé la corde et la chaîne,
Je ne veux plus vendre mon dos pour une botte de roseaux,
Je veux retourner à mes pairs, aux gîtes verts des taillis clos :
Je veux m'en aller jusqu'au jour, partir dans le matin nouveau.
Parmi le pur baiser des vents, la claire caresse de l'eau :
Je veux m'en aller jusqu'au jour ! Je veux retourner à mes pairs,
Aux gîtes verts des taillis clos,
J'oublierai l'anneau de mon pied, l'entrave qui veut me soumettre.
Je veux revoir mes vieux amours, les jeux de mes frères sans maître.
Composition:
- Set to music by Charles Koechlin (1867 - 1950), "Chant de Kala Nag", op. 18 no. 3 (1899-1901) [ tenor, men's chorus, piano or orchestra ], from Trois Poèmes du Livre de la Jungle, no. 3
Text Authorship:
- by Louis Fabulet (1862 - 1933), no title, appears in Le Livre de la Jungle (The Jungle Book)
- by Robert, vicomte d'Humières (1868 - 1915), no title, appears in Le Livre de la Jungle (The Jungle Book)
Based on:
- a text in English by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936), appears in The Jungle Book, in Toomai of the Elephants, first published 1894
Go to the general single-text view
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-11
Line count: 8
Word count: 95