Place des Invalides | Listen God is purring along in the beautiful empty sky

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 licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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.

by Jean Cocteau (1889 - 1963)

Translation © by Laura Prichard

Place des Invalides

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Écoute Dieu ronronne dans son beau ciel vide 
Rouet d'Omphale Les Nations 
Une remise triomphale de décorations 
Place des Invalides 

Dôme d'or 
Le bilan se dépêche, carde un nuage 
Les cocardes triclores 

Nasse la tour Eiffel pendue 
Elle attrape en silence 
Toutes les dépêches du monde

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Text Authorship:

by Jean Cocteau (1889 - 1963), "Place des Invalides", written 1917? [author's text not yet checked 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 Georges Auric (1899 - 1983), "Place des Invalides", 1918, published 1919 [ medium voice and piano ], from Huit poèmes de Jean Cocteau, no. 5, Paris, E. Demets [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "Place des Invalides", 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: 10
Word count: 46

Place des Invalides

Language: English after the French (Français)

Listen God is purring along in the beautiful empty sky
The Spinning Wheel of Omphale The Nations
A triumphal decoration day ceremony 
Place des Invalides 

Golden dome
Rushed schedule, carding a cloud
The tricolored cockades

Net the Eiffel Tower hangs 
She silently traps 
All the dispatches in the world

Translator's notes:
Title - "Place des Invalides" - The open park and military parade ground next to the Hôtel des Invalides, a gold-domed topped museum complex and national monument
Line 1-2: "Omphale" - Omphale was a queen of the ancient Greek kingdom of Lydia; Saint-Saëns wrote a symphonic poem in the 1870s titled "Le Rouet d’Omphale", the rouet being a spinning wheel used by the queen.
Line 2-2: "cloud" - still referring to the spinning process, as if the cloud were wool that needed to be cleaned and “carded"
Line 2-3: "cockades" - patriotic label and hat ribbons worn in France of red, white, and blue

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 Jean Cocteau (1889 - 1963), "Place des Invalides", written 1917?
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2016-04-14
Line count: 10
Word count: 49