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When you are old and gray and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false and true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
...
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2 of the original text.
Composition:
- Set to music by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "The Pilgrim Soul", 1999, stanzas 1-2 [ high voice and piano ]
Text Authorship:
- by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "When you are old", appears in The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends and Lyrics, appears in The Rose, first published 1892
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Walter A. Aue) , "Wenn Du alt bist", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Tamás Rédey) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Quando ormai sarai vecchia, e grigia e sonnolenta", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Garth Baxter
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 102
Quand vous serez vieille et grise et pleine de sommeil,
Et dodelinerez près du feu, prenez ce livre,
Et lisez lentement, et rêvez au regard doux
Qu'avaient jadis vos yeux, et à leur ombre profonde ;
Combien ont aimé vos moments de grâce bienheureuse,
Et aimèrent votre beauté, d'un amour vrai et feint,
Mais un seul homme a aimé en vous l'âme voyageuse,
Et aimé la tristesse sur votre visage changeant ;
...
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Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2 of the original text.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2016 by Pierre Mathé, (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.
Based on:
- a text in English by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "When you are old", appears in The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends and Lyrics, appears in The Rose, first published 1892
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This text was added to the website: 2016-01-04
Line count: 12
Word count: 102