by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896)
Translation by Ernest Christopher Dowson (1867 - 1900)

Les roses étaient toutes rouges
Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  CAT ENG GER
Les roses étaient toutes rouges
Et les lierres étaient tout noirs.

Chère, pour peu que tu te bouges
Renaissent tous mes désespoirs.

Le ciel était [trop bleu, trop tendre,]1
La mer trop [verte et l'air trop doux.]2

Je crains toujours, -- ce qu'est d'attendre
Quelque fuite atroce de vous.

Du houx à la feuille vernie
Et du luisant buis je suis las,

Et de la campagne infinie
Et de tout, fors de vous, hélas !

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Phaneuf (Dela): "si bleu, si tendre"
2 Phaneuf (Dela): "verte, l'air si doux!"

Text Authorship:

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) [singable] (Núria Colomer) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Corinne Orde) , "Spleen", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2003-10-20
Line count: 12
Word count: 75

Language: English  after the French (Français) 
Around were all the roses red
The ivy all around was black.

Dear, so thou only move thine head,
Shall all mine old despairs awake!

Too blue, too tender was the sky,
The air too soft, too green the sea.

Always I fear, I know not why,
Some lamentable flight from thee.

I am so tired of holly-sprays
And weary of the bright box-tree,

Of all the endless country ways;
Of everything alas! save thee.

Composition:

    Set to music by John (Nicholson) Ireland (1879 - 1962), "Spleen (after Paul Verlaine)", published 1913 [ voice and piano ], from Marigold, no. 3, London, Roger Winthrop

Text Authorship:

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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2003-12-02
Line count: 12
Word count: 75