by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896)
Translation by Mabel (White) Dearmer (1872 - 1915)

Le ciel est, par‑dessus le toit
Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  CAT CHI CHI ENG ENG ITA SPA
Le ciel est, par-dessus le toit,
  Si bleu, si calme !
Un arbre, par-dessus le toit,
  Berce sa palme.

La cloche, dans le ciel qu'on voit,
  Doucement tinte.
Un oiseau sur l'arbre qu'on voit
  Chante sa plainte.

Mon Dieu, mon Dieu, la vie est là
  Simple et tranquille.
Cette paisible rumeur-là
  Vient de la ville.

Qu'as-tu fait, ô toi que voilà
  Pleurant sans cesse,
Dis, qu'as-tu fait, toi que voilà,
  De ta jeunesse ?

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), no title, written 1880, appears in Sagesse, in Sagesse III, no. 6, Paris, Société générale de Librairie Catholique, first published 1881

See other settings of this text.

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • CHI Chinese (中文) (Yen-Chiang Che) , "監禁", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Píseň"
  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , no title, copyright © 2016
  • ENG English (Ernest Christopher Dowson) , no title, appears in Decorations, in After Paul Verlaine, no. 4
  • ENG English (Amy Pfrimmer) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Il cielo, lassù oltre il tetto", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • SPA Spanish (Español) (José Miguel Llata) , "Desde la prisión", copyright © 2013, (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: 16
Word count: 72

Language: English  after the French (Français) 
The sky above the roof
Is calm and sweet
A tree above the roof
Bends in the heat

A bell from out the blue
Drowsily rings
A bird from out the blue
Plaintively sings

Ah God! A life is here,
Simple and fair
Murmurs of strife are here
Lost in the air

Why dost thou weep O heart
Poured out in tears?
What hast thou done O heart,
With thy spent years?

Composition:

    Set to music by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "The sky above the roof", 1908, published 1909 [ chorus ], London, Boosey & Hawkes

Text Authorship:

Based on:

Go to the general single-text view


Researcher for this page: Thomas A. Gregg

This text was added to the website: 2010-11-07
Line count: 16
Word count: 72