Quand nous fûmes hors des chemins
Où la poussière est rose,
Aline, qui riait sans cause
En me touchant les mains ; -

L'Écho du bois riait. La terre
Sonna creux au talon.
Aline se tut : le vallon
Etait plein de mystère...

Mais toi, sans lymphe ni sommeil,
Cigale en haut posée,
Tu jetais, ivre de rosée,
Ton cri triste et vermeil.

Note: first published in the revue Les Marges, December 1912.

Text Authorship:

• by Paul Jean Toulet (1867 - 1920), "La cigale", appears in Les Contrerimes, in Contrerimes, no. 30, Paris, Éd. Le Divan, first published 1921 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

• by Jean Apothéloz (1900 - 1965), "La cigale", 1930-37 [ medium voice and piano ], from Les Contrerimes, no. 3, MS [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2013-10-18
Line count: 12
Word count: 60