Sous une lumière blafarde Court, danse et se tord sans raison La Vie, impudente et criarde. Aussi, sitôt qu'à l'horizon La nuit voluptueuse monte, Apaisant tout, même la faim, Effaçant tout, même la honte, Le Poëte se dit : « Enfin! Mon esprit, comme mes vertèbres, Invoque ardemment le repos ; Le cœur plein de songes funèbres, Je vais me coucher sur le dos Et me rouler dans vos rideaux, O rafraîchissantes ténèbres ! »
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du mal, Paris: Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, 1861, in La Mort, pages 301-302. Note: this was number 124 in 1861 edition of Les Fleurs du mal but number 149 in subsequent editions.
In line 2-4, "Poëte" is an archaic spelling and would be spelled "Poète" using modern French spelling conventions.
Text Authorship:
- by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), "La fin de la journée", appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 6. La Mort, no. 124, Paris, Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, first published 1861 [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "La fin de la journée", 1990 [ medium voice and piano ], from La Mort, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Benjamin C. S. Boyle , "La fin de la journée ", published 2000 [ voice and piano ], from Quatre Chansons, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jérémy Langouet (b. 1992), "L'Irrémédiable", 2017, published 2017 [ low voice and prepared piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Klaus Miehling (b. 1963), "La fin de la journée ", op. 42 no. 2 (1993), published 2014 [ voice and piano ], from Vier Lieder nach Texten von Charles Baudelaire, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frans Vuursteen (b. 1954), "La fin de la journée", 1980 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ned Rorem.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Goll) , "Den na konci"
- GER German (Deutsch) (Stefan George) , "Ende des Tages"
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2004-08-04
Line count: 14
Word count: 72
Den šedý s oblohy se line, v něm Život drzý, povykavý sem tam se v běhu, tanci šine. Však nad obzor jak ze záplavy Se vznese sladká noc, jež skojí vše kolem nás, i hlad v tvém těle, jež vše, i hanbu v duši, zhojí, dí básník: »Konečně! ach! déle Mé tělo, duch můj nemá již se zmítat znaven bez pokoje; sny těžké v srdci uspat smíš! Teď složím k spánku údy svoje, se vina tvého do závoje, ó Tmo, jež snímáš každou tíž!«
Confirmed with BAUDELAIRE, Charles. Výbor z Květů zla , translated by Jaroslav Goll, Praha: Otto, 1927, page 64-65.
Text Authorship:
- by Jaroslav Goll (1846 - 1929), "Den na konci" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), "La fin de la journée", appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 6. La Mort, no. 124, Paris, Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, first published 1861
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-08-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 84