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by Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre Macdonald, Duc de Tarente (1765 - 1840)

Les illusions
Language: French (Français) 
Les Illusions sont des hirondelles 
  Dont les tire-d'ailes 
  Ont des cris joyeux. -- 
Quand on voit passer en troupes agiles
  Ces êtres fragiles, 
  On les suit des yeux. 

Les Illusions comme les opales
  Ont des teintes pâles,
  Des éclairs d'argent. -- 
Les Illusions n'ont pas de mémoire :
  Leur robe est de moire,
  A reflet changeant. 

Les Illusions sont comme la lune 
  Qu'on voit de la dune
  Monter dans la nuit. --
Quand le jour revient, la lune s'efface
  Sans laisser de trace,
  Sans faire de bruit. 

Les Illusions sont des hirondelles... 
  Mais leurs tire-d'ailes 
  Se perdent aux cieux. -- 
Les Illusions sont comme les femmes
  Qui, prenant nos âmes, 
  Font pleurer nos yeux.

Confirmed with Macdonald Duc de Tarente, Enthousiasmes -- Déboires -- Poésies, Paris, Paul Ollendorff, 1897, pages 162-163. Below the poem it says "Septembre 189 ." [sic] The poem is given a title in the table of contents but not above the poem itself.


Text Authorship:

  • by Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre Macdonald, Duc de Tarente (1765 - 1840), "Les Illusions", appears in Enthousiasmes -- Déboires -- Poésies, in 2. Déboires [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 Leimistin Broussan (b. 1858), "Les illusions" [ high voice and piano ], Éd. F. Durdilly [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Alberto Mazzuoli , "Les Illusions" [ medium voice and piano ], from Pagine d'Album, Otto Melodie per Canto e Pianoforte, no. 7, Milan, Ricordi [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2021-11-04
Line count: 24
Word count: 109

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