Invitation | Come! Around my dwelling a stream sings

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Invitation

(Sung text for setting by K. Goeyvaerts)

See original

Language: French (Français) after the Chinese (中文)

Our translations: ENG

Venez ! Autour de ma de demeure chante un ruisseau 
qui est gai comme le printemps. 
Vous verrez peut-être des mouettes, si le vent se lève.
Comme je ne reçois jamais personne, 
je ne fais pas balayer les allées de mon jardin.
Vous marcherez sur un tapis de feuilles. 
Vous m'excuserez de vous offrir un déjeuner modeste.
Le marché est très éloigné. 
Croyez que je m'efforcerai de vous dire des choses agréables 
pour compenser la rusticité de ma table.
Vous hésitez ? Vous craignez de me déranger ? 
Nous allons boire quand même, boire ensemble...
et nous trinquerons par-dessus la haie.

Composition:

Karel Goeyvaerts

La flûte de Jade

Text Authorship:

by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Invitation", appears in La flûte de jade

Based on:

a text in Chinese (中文) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

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

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "Invitation", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-02-19
Line count: 13
Word count: 100

Invitation

(Sung text translation for setting by K. Goeyvaerts)

See original

Language: English after the French (Français)

Come! Around my dwelling a stream sings
with the gaiety of springtime. 
You may see gulls if the wind comes up. 
As I never entertain,
I don't keep the paths in my garden swept. 
You'll be walking on a carpet of leaves. 
You'll forgive me if I offer you a modest lunch.
The market is so far away. 
Be assured that I will do my best to tell you pleasant things,
to make up for the rustic simplicity of my table.
Do you hesitate? Are you afraid of disturbing me?
We will drink anyway, drink together...
and clink glasses over the hedge.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (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 Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Invitation", appears in La flûte de jade
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Chinese (中文) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

This text was added to the website: 2026-04-30
Line count: 13
Word count: 104