Water that presses on | Water that presses on, that runs… forgetful water

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by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)

Translation © by Laura Prichard

Eau qui se presse, qui court — eau...

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG ENG

Eau qui se presse, qui court — eau oublieuse 
que la distraite terre boit, 
hésite un petit instant dans ma main creuse, 
    souvient-toi !

Clair et rapide amour, indifférence, 
presque absence qui court, 
entre ton trop d'arrivée et ton trop de partance 
    tremble un peu de séjour.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with The Complete French Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, Saint Paul: Greywolf Press, 1986, Page 154.

Text Authorship:

by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1924/5, appears in Poèmes français, in 1. Vergers, no. 18, first published 1926 [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 Juan José Castro (1895 - 1968), "Eau qui se presse", 1945 [ voice and piano ], from Dos canciones de Rilke, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by Jean Philippe Dartois , "Eau qui se presse", 2017 [ voice and piano ], from Vergers, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
by Louis Durey (1888 - 1979), "Eau qui se presse", op. 42 no. 3 (1932), published 1966 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vergers, no. 3, Éd. Le Chant du Monde [sung text checked 1 time]
by Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963), "Eau qui se presse", published 1999 [ voice and piano ], Schott [sung text not yet checked]
by Harold C. King (1895 - 1984), "Vergers XVIII", 1983, from O Leben, Leben, wunderliche Zeit, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Laura (Pranada) Sylvis) , "Rushing, running water", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "Water that presses on", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 46

Water that presses on

Language: English after the French (Français)

Water that presses on, that runs… forgetful water
drunk by the distracted earth, 
hesitate a moment in my hollow hand, 
    remember me! 
Unclouded and speedy love, apathy, 
[a feeling] approaching absence which flows
in between your too frequent arrivals and departures
    float here awhile.

Text 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: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, written 1924/5, appears in Poèmes français, in 1. Vergers, no. 18, first published 1926
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2016-04-13
Line count: 8
Word count: 44