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It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

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by Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs
Translation © by Peter Low

La chevelure
Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  ENG GER GER ITA
Il m'a dit: « Cette nuit, j'ai rêvé.
J'avais ta chevelure autour de mon cou.
J'avais tes cheveux comme un collier noir
autour de ma nuque et sur ma poitrine.

« Je les caressais, et c'étaient les miens ;
et nous étions liés pour toujours ainsi,
par la même chevelure, la bouche sur la bouche,
ainsi que deux lauriers n'ont souvent qu'une racine.

« Et peu à peu, il m'a semblé,
tant nos membres étaient confondus,
que je devenais toi-même,
ou que tu entrais en moi comme mon songe. »

Quand il eut achevé,
il mit doucement ses mains sur mes épaules,
et il me regarda d'un regard si tendre,
que je baissai les yeux avec un frisson.

Text Authorship:

  • by Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs, "La chevelure", appears in Les Chansons de Bilitis, in Bucoliques en Pamphylie, no. 31 [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), "La chevelure", L. 97/(90) no. 2 (1897-8) [ voice and piano ], from Chansons de Bilitis, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Aimée Strohl (1865 - 1941), "La chevelure", published 1900 [ high voice and piano ], from Bilitis, Poème en 12 chants, no. 5, Paris, Éd. Toledo & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]

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

  • ENG English (Peter Low) , "The hair", copyright © 2000, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Nele Gramß) , "Das Haar", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Das Haar", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "La chioma", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 117

The hair
Language: English  after the French (Français) 
He told me: "Last night I had a dream.
Your hair was around my neck,
it was like a black necklace
round my nape and on my chest.

"I was stroking your hair, and it was my own;
thus the same tresses joined us forever,
with our mouths touching,
just as two laurels often have only one root.

"And gradually I sensed,
since our limbs were so entwined, 
that I was becoming you
and you were entering me like my dream."

When he'd finished, 
he gently put his hands on my shoulders, 
and gazed at me so tenderly 
that I lowered my eyes, quivering.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2000 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.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in French (Français) by Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs, "La chevelure", appears in Les Chansons de Bilitis, in Bucoliques en Pamphylie, no. 31
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 104

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–Emily Ezust, Founder

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