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My dear, my dear I know More than another What makes your heart beat so; Not even your own mother Can know it as I know, Who broke my heart for her When the wild thought, That she denies And has forgot, Set all her blood astir And glittered in her eyes.
Confirmed with W. B. Yeats, Later Poems, Macmillan and Co., London, 1926, page 254.
Authorship
- by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "To a young girl", appears in Nine Poems, appears in The Wild Swans at Coole, first published 1918 [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 Ned Rorem (b. 1923), "To a young girl", published 1972. [voice and piano] [text verified 1 time]
- by Stephen Wilkinson (b. 1919), "To a young girl" [voice and piano], from the collection Eternal Summer, no. 8. [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , title 1: "À une fille jeune", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: John Versmoren
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 11
Word count: 52
Ma chère, ma chère, je sais Plus que quiconque Ce qui fait battre ainsi ton cœur ; Pas même ta propre mère Ne peut le savoir comme je le sais Elle qui m'a brisé le cœur pour elle Quand cette pensée sauvage, Qu'elle nie, Et a oubliée, Fit bouillir son sang Et scintiller ses yeux.
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:
- a text in English by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "To a young girl", appears in Nine Poems, appears in The Wild Swans at Coole, first published 1918
This text was added to the website: 2015-12-28
Line count: 11
Word count: 55