by
Jean Cocteau (1889 - 1963)
Portrait d'Henri Rousseau
Language: French (Français)
Des aloès et des mésanges
en costume de dimanche.
Les anges aux grosses ailes
volent autour de la tour Eiffel.
Le dirigeable RÉPUBLIQUE
Le nègre jouait de la pipe
Sur la Butte fumant sa flûte
L'autre s'appelait Jean-Jacques
Biplan soleil cloches de Pâques
Ce fut une belle Liberté.
On y voyait toutes les bêtes
de la jungle et de la cité.
Un lion et un cheval blanc
et tous les deux très ressemblants.
La mésange disait: "Vive la République!"
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:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "Portrait of Henri Rousseau", 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: 15
Word count: 79
Portrait of Henri Rousseau
Language: English after the French (Français)
Aloes and sparrows
wearing their Sunday best.
The angels with big wings
fly around the Eiffel Tower.
The dirigible RÉPUBLIQUE
The black man was playing the pipe
On the Butte smoking his flute
The other called himself Jean-Jacques
Biplane sun Easter chimes
It was a beautiful Liberty.
There one could see all the beasts
of the jungle and of the city.
A lion and a white horse
and they both looked like each other.
The sparrow said: “Long live the Republic!”
Translator's notes:
Line 2-1: "angels with big wings" - i.e., biplanes
Line 3-3: "Butte" - the hilly area on Montmatre, in the north central section of Paris
Line 4-1: a reference to the end of World War I
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), "Portrait d'Henri Rousseau", written 1917?, appears in Embarcadères
This text was added to the website: 2016-04-14
Line count: 15
Word count: 81