by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867)
Translation © by Grant Hicks

Le chat II
 (Sung text for setting by H. Poupard)
 See original
Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  ENG SPA
 ... 

— De sa fourrure blonde et brune
Sort au parfum si doux qu’un soir
J’en fus embaumé, pour l’avoir
Caressée une fois, rien qu’une.

C’est l’esprit familier du lieu ;
Il juge, il préside, il inspire
Toutes choses dans son empire ;
Peut-être est-il fée, est-il dieu ?

Quand mes yeux vers ce chat que j’aime,
Tirés comme par un aimant,
Se retournent docilement,
Et que je regarde en moi-même,

Je vois avec étonnement
Le feu de ses prunelles pâles,
Clairs fanaux, vivantes opales,
Qui me contemplent fixement.

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 7-10 of the original text.

Note for stanza 7: In the 1861 and 1868 editions, the poem is split into two sections. The heading I precedes the first stanza of the poem, and the heading II appears before this stanza.

Composition:

Text Authorship:

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

  • CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Haasz) , "Kot", Prague, J. Otto, first published 1919
  • ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • SPA Spanish (Español) (Juan Henríquez Concepción) , "El gato", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 226

Language: English  after the French (Français) 
 ... 

— From his blond and brown fur
Wafts a scent so sweet that one night 
I was suffused with it, though I'd
Stroked it once and no more.

He is the familiar spirit of the place;
He judges, he supervises, he inspires
Everything in his empire;
Is he perhaps a fairy, is he a god?

When my eyes, drawn towards this beloved cat
As if by a magnet,
Turn meekly back,
And I look within myself,

I am astonished to see
The fire of his pale pupils,
Bright lanterns, living opals,
Gazing at me fixedly.

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 7-10 of the original text.

Translator's note: In both French and English, the verb "inspire," from Latin roots meaning "to breathe in, or into," is generally used figuratively to refer to the creation or communication of a mental state. However, in both languages it can still be used to refer to inhalation. And although many of us may find cats to be inspirational in the usual sense, I like to think that Baudelaire may have had inhalation in mind when he wrote stanza 8, having observed that as the cat judges and supervises all things in his world, he also acquaints himself with their essence by breathing in their scent.

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.
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This text was added to the website: 2026-03-20
Line count: 40
Word count: 242