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Were you but lying cold and dead, And lights were paling out of the West, You would come hither, and bend your head, And I would lay my head on your breast; And you would murmur tender words, Forgiving me, because you were dead: Nor would you rise and hasten away, Though you have the will of the wild birds, But know your hair was bound and wound About the stars and moon and sun: O would, beloved, that you lay Under the dock-leaves in the ground, While lights were paling one by one.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with W. B. Yeats, Later Poems, Macmillan and Co., London, 1926, page 44.
First published in Sketch, February 1898, revised 1899Note: later titled "Aedh wishes his Beloved were dead"
Authorship:
- by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), title 1: "Aodh to Dectora", title 2: "He wishes his Beloved were Dead", appears in The Wind among the reeds [author's text checked 2 times 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 Henry Eichheim (1870 - 1942), "Aedh wishes his Beloved were dead", published <<1940 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Clyde Van Nuys Fogel , "Aedh wishes his Beloved were dead", published <<1940 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-09-19
Line count: 13
Word count: 94
Si tu n'étais autre que froide et morte Et si des lumières pâlissaient à l'ouest, Tu viendrais ici, et courberais ta tête, Et je poserais ma tête sur ta poitrine ; Et tu murmurerais de tendres paroles De pardon parce que tu serais morte : Et tu ne te lèverais pas ni partirais hâtivement, Bien que tu aies la volonté des oiseaux sauvages, Car tu saurais que tes cheveux seraient attachés et enroulés Autour des étoiles, et de la lune et du soleil : Ô bien-aimée si tu reposais Dans le sol sous les feuilles, Tandis que les lumières pâliraient une à une.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "He wishes his Beloved were Dead" = "Il souhaite que sa bien-aimée soit morte"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:
- a text in English by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), title 1: "Aodh to Dectora", title 2: "He wishes his Beloved were Dead", appears in The Wind among the reeds
This text was added to the website: 2015-12-27
Line count: 13
Word count: 103