Ô toi très chère âme maintenant

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by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)

Translation © by Guy Laffaille

The Unknown Region

(Sung text for setting by W. Schuman)

See original

Language: English

Our translations: FRE GER

Darest thou now O Soul,
Walk out with me toward the Unknown Region,
Where neither ground is for the feet
   nor any path to follow?

No map there, nor guide,
Nor voice sounding, nor touch of human hand,
Nor face with blooming flesh,
   nor lips, nor eyes, are in that land.

I know it not O Soul;
Nor dost thou -- all is a blank before us;
All waits, undream'd of, in that region,
   the inaccessible land,
The unknown region..

 ...

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3 of the original text.

Note: the indented lines have been broken off from the preceding lines so that parallel translations will be easier to see. This poem has five stanzas of three lines each.

Composition:

William Howard Schuman

Carols of Death

Text Authorship:

by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), "Darest thou now O Soul"

See other settings of this text.

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

FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 133

Ô toi très chère âme maintenant

(Sung text translation for setting by W. Schuman)

See original

Language: French (Français) after the English

Ô toi très chère âme maintenant
Viens marcher avec moi vers la Région Inconnue,
Où il n'y a pas de sol
 pour les pieds ni de chemin à suivre.

Pas de carte là, pas de guide,
Pas de voix qui résonne, pas de toucher de main humaine,
Pas de visage avec une chair épanouie,
 pas de lèvres, pas d'yeux, dans ce pays.

Je ne le connais pas, ô âme ;
Toi non plus -- tout est blanc devant nous ;
Tout attend, sans rêves, dans cette région,
 ce pays inaccessible.

 ...

About the headline (FAQ)

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3 of the original text.

Henze's title: "Chuchotements de la mort céleste"

Text Authorship:

Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2014 by Guy Laffaille, (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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Based on:

a text in English by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), "Darest thou now O Soul"
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This text was added to the website: 2014-06-24
Line count: 20
Word count: 145