by
Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933)
The tune
Language: English
Available translation(s): FRE
I know a certain tune that my life plays;
Over and over I have heard it start
With all the wavering loveliness of violas
And gain in swiftness like a runners heart.
It climbs and climbs; I watch it sway in climbing
High over time, high even over doubt,
It has all heaven to itself -- it pauses
And faltering blindly down the air, goes out.
Confirmed with Sara Teasdale, Dark of The Moon, New York, The Macmillan Company, 1926, page 84.
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Un air", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-02-13
Line count: 8
Word count: 65
Un air
Language: French (Français)  after the English
Je connais un certain air que joue ma vie ;
Encore et encore, je l'ai entendu préluder
Avec tout le charme hésitant des altos
Et gagner en rapidité comme le cœur d'un coureur.
Il grimpe et grimpe ; je l'entends vaciller en grimpant
Plus haut avec le temps, plus haut même au-dessus du doute,
Il a le ciel tout entier pour lui, il marque une pause
Et titubant, aveugle, dégringole, disparaît.
Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 by Pierre Mathé, (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:
This text was added to the website: 2015-10-13
Line count: 8
Word count: 71