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.
Tremble argenté, tilleul, bouleau... La lune s'effeuille sur l'eau... Comme de longs cheveux peignés au vent du soir, L'odeur des nuits d'été parfume le lac noir. Le grand lac parfumé brille comme un miroir, [La]1 rame tombe et se relève, Ma barque glisse dans le rêve. Ma barque glisse dans le ciel, Sur le lac immatériel... Des deux rames que je balance, L'une est Langueur, l'autre est Silence. En cadence les yeux fermés, Rame, ô mon cœur, ton indolence A larges coups lents et pâmés. Là-bas la lune écoute, accoudée au côteau, Le silence qu'exhale en glissant le bateau... Trois grands lys frais coupés meurent sur mon manteau. Vers tes lèvres, ô Nuit voluptueuse et pâle, Est-ce leur âme, est-ce mon âme qui s'exhale ? Cheveux des nuits d'argent peignés aux longs roseaux... Comme la lune sur les eaux, Comme la rame sur les flots, Mon âme s'effeuille en sanglots !
G. Fauré sets stanzas 1-4, 6-9
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Fauré: "Ma"
Authorship:
- by Albert Victor Samain (1858 - 1900), "Accompagnement", written 1893, appears in Au jardin de l'Infante, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1897 [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 Joseph Boulnois (1884 - 1918), "Accompagnement", published 1913 [ high voice and piano ], Paris, Éditions Maurice Sénart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Léon Delafosse (1874 - 1951), "Barcarolle - Nocturne", published 1904 [ vocal duet for soprano and mezzo-soprano with piano ], from Six mélodies pour une ou deux voix et piano, no. 6, Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
- by (François-Clément) Théodore Dubois (1837 - 1924), "La lune s'effeuille sur l'eau", published 1905 [ voice and piano or orchestra ], from Musiques sur l'eau, no. 2, Paris, Éd. Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924), "Accompagnement", op. 85 no. 3 (1902), published 1903, stanzas 1-4,6-9 [ medium voice and piano ], Éditions Heugel [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jane Fonssagrives , "Lac immatériel", <<1909 [ medium voice and piano ], from Cinq mélodies, poèmes d'Albert Samain, no. 2, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Leduc [sung text not yet checked]
- by Klaus Miehling (b. 1963), "Accompagnement", op. 46 no. 2 (1993), published 2014 [ voice and piano ], from Fünf Lieder nach Texten von Albert Samain, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), [adaptation] ; composed by Charles Koechlin.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , copyright © 2016, (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: 23
Word count: 152
Trembling [and] silvered, linden, birch... The moon sheds [its leaves] on the water... Like long hair combed by the night wind, The scent of the summer nights perfumes the dark lake; The great perfumed lake glistens like a mirror. [The]1 oar falls and raises itself, My boat glides in the dream. My boat glides in the sky, On the intangible lake... [... ...] In rhythm, with [my] eyes closed, Row away, oh my heart, your indolence With long strokes, slow and dreamy. Over there, the moon listens, leaning on the hill, [To] the silence which is exhaled [by] the gliding boat... Three big fresh-cut lilies are dying on my coat. Toward your lips, oh voluptuous and pale night, Is it their souls, [or] is it my soul which exhales? Hair of long reeds is combed [during these] silver nights. Like the moon on the waters, Like the oar on the waves, My soul sheds [its] sobs [like leaves]!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Fauré: "My"
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Prichard, (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 Albert Victor Samain (1858 - 1900), "Accompagnement", written 1893, appears in Au jardin de l'Infante, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1897
This text was added to the website: 2016-02-08
Line count: 23
Word count: 159