Pale star of the evening, distant messenger

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by Louis Charles Alfred de Musset (1810 - 1857)

Translation © by Peter Low

À une étoile

(Sung text for setting by L. Diémer)

See original

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: CHI ENG

 ... 

Étoile qui descends vers la verte colline,
Triste larme d'argent du manteau de la Nuit,
Toi que regarde au loin le pâtre qui chemine,
Tandis que pas à pas son long troupeau le suit, --
Étoile, où t'en vas-tu, dans cette nuit immense ?
Cherches-tu sur la rive un lit dans les roseaux ?
Où t'en vas-tu si belle, à l'heure du silence,
Tomber comme une perle au sein profond des eaux ?
Ah ! si tu dois mourir, bel astre, et si ta tête
Va dans la vaste mer plonger ses blonds cheveux,
Avant de nous quitter, un seul instant arrête ; -
Étoile de l'amour, ne descends pas des cieux !

Note: the text above is taken from stanza 3 of the original text.

Composition:

Louis Diémer

Vingt Mélodies

Text Authorship:

by Louis Charles Alfred de Musset (1810 - 1857), no title, written 1831, appears in Premières poésies, in Le saule, first published 1850

See other settings of this text.

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
ENG English (Michael P Rosewall) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Peter Low) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-05-22
Line count: 24
Word count: 195

To a Star

(Sung text translation for setting by L. Diémer)

See original

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

 ... 

Oh star dipping down towards the green hill,
sad silver tear on the mantle of Night,
seen at a distance by the shepherd on his way
while his long flock follows him step by step,
where are you heading in this vast night?
Are you seeking a bed in the reeds on the riverbank?
Where are you off to, pretty one, at the hour of silence,
will you fall like a pearl in the depths of the sea?
Ah, if you must die, fair star, if your head
must plunge its blond hair into the vast ocean,
stop for an instant, before you leave us,
don't, oh star of love, don't descend from the sky!

Note: the text above is taken from stanza 3 of the original text.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to French (Français) copyright © 2022 by Peter Low, (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 French (Français) by Louis Charles Alfred de Musset (1810 - 1857), no title, written 1831, appears in Premières poésies, in Le saule, first published 1850
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This text was added to the website: 2022-04-20
Line count: 24
Word count: 206