Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
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.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
All things uncomely and broken, all things worn out and old, The cry of a child by the roadway, the creak of a lumbering cart, The heavy steps of the ploughman, splashing the wintry mould, Are wronging your image that blossoms a rose in the deeps of my heart. The wrong of unshapely things is a wrong too great to be told; I hunger to build them anew and sit on a green knoll apart, With the earth and the sky and the water, remade, like a casket of gold For my dreams of your image that blossoms a rose in the deeps of my heart.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with W. B. Yeats, Later Poems, Macmillan and Co., London, 1926, page 6.
First published in National Observer, November 1892 as "The rose in my heart"; revised 1899 and 1906Authorship:
- by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), title 1: "Aedh tells of the Rose in his Heart", title 2: "The lover tells of the Rose in his Heart", 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 Nicholas Marshall (b. 1942), "The Lover tells of the Rose in his Heart" [ high voice, treble recorder, violoncello, and harpsichord ], from The falling of the leaves [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Raynor (1909 - 1970), "The lover tells of a rose" [ baritone and piano ] [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: 2009-01-17
Line count: 8
Word count: 106
Toutes choses affreuses et brisées,toutes choses usées et vieilles, Le cri d'un enfant au bord de la chaussée, le grincement d'un lourd chariot, Les pas pesants du laboureur pataugeant dans la terre hivernale, Souillent ton image qui fait éclore une rose au fond de mon cœur. Le mal des choses mal formées est un mal trop grand pour être dit ; J'ai soif de les refaire à neuf et de m'asseoir seul sur un vert monticule, Avec la terre et le ciel et l'eau, recréés, comme un coffret d'or Pour mes rêves de ton image qui fait fleurir une rose au fond de mon cœur.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "The lover tells of the Rose in his Heart" = "L'amant parle de la rose dans son cœur"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.
Contact:
Based on:
- a text in English by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), title 1: "Aedh tells of the Rose in his Heart", title 2: "The lover tells of the Rose in his Heart", appears in The Wind among the reeds
This text was added to the website: 2015-12-27
Line count: 8
Word count: 105