Bilitis | One woman envelops herself in white wool

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by Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs

Translation © by Marvin J. Ward

Bilitis

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG GER

Une femme s'enveloppe de laine blanche. 
Une autre se vêt de soie et d'or. 
Une autre se couvre de fleurs, 
de feuilles vertes et de raisins.

Moi, je ne saurais vivre que nue. 
Mon amant, prends-moi comme je suis: 
sans robe ni bijoux ni sandales, 
voici Bilitis toute seule.

Mes cheveux sont noirs de leur noir 
et mes lèvres rouges de leur rouge. 
Mes boucles flottent autour de moi libres 
et rondes comme des plumes.

Prends-moi telle que ma mère m'a faite 
dans une nuit d'amour lointaine, 
et si je te plais ainsi, 
n'oublie pas de me le dire.

Text Authorship:

by Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs, "Bilitis", appears in Les Chansons de Bilitis, in Bucoliques en Pamphylie, no. 38 [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 Claude Achille Debussy (1862 - 1918), "Bilitis", L. 102/(96) no. 6, from Chansons de Bilitis, no. 6, note: incidental music to accompany the recitation of twelve prose poems. [sung text checked 1 time]
by Alina Piechowska-Pascal (b. 1937), "Bilitis", published 1977 [ high voice and piano ], from Chants de Bilitis, no. 4, Paris, Éd. Choudens [sung text not yet checked]
by Aimée Strohl (1865 - 1941), "Bilitis", published 1900 [ high voice and piano ], from Bilitis, Poème en 12 chants, no. 9, Paris, Éd. Toledo & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Marvin J. Ward) , "Bilitis", copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Bilitis", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Marvin J. Ward

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 99

Bilitis

Language: English after the French (Français)

One woman envelops herself in white wool.
Another clothes herself in silk and gold.
Another covers herself in flowers, 
green leaves and grapes. 

I, I can only live naked. 
My lover, take me as I am: 
without dress or jewels or sandals, 
here is Bilitis alone. 

My hair is black with its blackness 
and my lips are red with their redness. 
My curls float around me free 
and round like feathers. 

Take me just as my mother made me 
in a night of love long ago, 
and if I am pleasing to you thus, 
do not forget to tell me so.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2003 by Marvin J. Ward, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs, "Bilitis", appears in Les Chansons de Bilitis, in Bucoliques en Pamphylie, no. 38
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 101