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by Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki (1880 - 1918), as Guillaume Apollinaire
Translation © by Faith J. Cormier
Bleuet
Language: French (Français)
Jeune homme
De vingt ans
Qui as vu des choses si affreuses
Que penses-tu des hommes de ton enfance
Tu Tu
as
vu connais
la
mort la bravoure et la ruse,
en
face
plus
de
cent
fois
tu
ne
sais
Transmets ton intrépidité pas
ce
À ceux qui viendront que
c'est
Après toi que
la
vie
Jeune homme
Tu es joyeux, ta mémoire est ensanglantée
Ton âme est rouge aussi
De joie
Tu as absorbé la vie de ceux qui sont morts près de toi
Tu as de la décision
Il est 17 heures et tu saurais
Mourir
Sinon mieux que tes aînés
Du moins plus pieusement
Car tu connais mieux la mort que la vie
Ô douceur d'autrefois,
Lenteur immémoriale.
A version for program(me) notes:
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Jeune homme de vingt ans qui as vu des choses si affreuses Que penses-tu des hommes de ton enfance Tu connais la bravoure et la ruse, Tu as vu la mort en face plus de cent fois tu ne sais pas ce que c'est que la vie Transmets ton intrépidité à ceux qui viendront après toi Jeune homme tu es joyeux, ta mémoire est ensanglantée Ton âme est rouge aussi de joie Tu as absorbé la vie de ceux qui sont morts près de toi Tu as de la décision Il est 17 heures et tu saurais mourir Sinon mieux que tes aînés Du moins plus pieusement Car tu connais mieux la mort que la vie Ô douceur d'autrefois, lenteur immémoriale.
Authorship:
- by Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki (1880 - 1918), as Guillaume Apollinaire, "Bleuet", appears in Il y a, no. 2 [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 Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963), "Bleuet", FP. 102 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "New recruit", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Ingrid Schmithüsen) , "Grünling", copyright © 2013, (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: 38
Word count: 122
New recruit
Language: English after the French (Français)
Young man
of twenty,
who has seen such horrible things,
what do you think about the men of your childhood?
You’ve You
seen know
death bravery and cunning.
face
to
face
more
than
a
hundred
times
and
Pass on your boldness you
don’t
to those who come know
what
after you. life
is.
Young man,
you are joyful but your memory is bloody.
Your soul is stained red
with joy.
You have absorbed the life of those who died beside you.
You are decisive.
It’s five o’clock in the afternoon and you will know
how to die,
if not better than your elders,
at least more piously
because you know death better than life.
Ah, sweetness of the past,
immemorial slowness.
Note on the title (provided by Laura Prichard): Bleu is colloquial for “new recruit” or young soldier,” as in “Ce sodat est un vrai bleu,” meaning "This soldier’s a real rookie.” Bleuet is a small, delicate blue flower referred to as cornflower in English.
A version for program(me) notes:
Young man of twenty, who has seen such horrible things, what do you think about the men of your childhood? You know bravery and cunning. You’ve seen death face to face more than a hundred times and you don’t know what life is. Pass on your boldness to those who come after you. Young man, you are joyful but your memory is bloody. Your soul is stained red with joy. You have absorbed the life of those who died beside you. You are decisive. It’s five o’clock in the afternoon and you will know how to die, if not better than your elders, at least more piously because you know death better than life. Ah, sweetness of the past, immemorial slowness.
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2014 by Faith J. Cormier, (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:
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki (1880 - 1918), as Guillaume Apollinaire, "Bleuet", appears in Il y a, no. 2
This text was added to the website: 2014-10-28
Line count: 35
Word count: 122