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Au soleil couchant, Toi qui vas cherchant Fortune, Prends garde de choir; La terre, le soir, Est brune. L'océan trompeur Couvre de vapeur La dune. Vois, à l'horizon, Aucune maison Aucune! Maint voleur te suit, La chose est, la nuit, Commune. Les dames des bois Nous gardent parfois Rancune. Elles vont errer: Crains d'en rencontrer Quelqu'une. Les lutins de l'air Vont danser au clair De lune.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), "La chanson du fou", appears in Odes et Ballades, in 6. Ballades - 1823-1828, no. 10a [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 Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875), "La chanson du fou", op. 21 no. 12 (1868), published 1873 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vingt mélodies pour chant et piano, no. 12, Paris, Éd. Choudens [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Cécile Chaminade (1857 - 1944), "La chanson du fou", published 1898 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul-Charles-Marie Curet (1848 - 1917), as Paul Puget, "La chanson du fou", 1870-79? [ medium voice and piano ], from Vingt mélodies, Vol. 1, no. 16, Éd. Girod [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marcel Delannoy (1898 - 1962), "Ballade d'Elespuru", published 1935 [ medium voice and piano ], from Deux airs pour Cromwell de Victor Hugo, no. 1, Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel', Heugel et Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marc Delmas (1885 - 1931), "Chanson", 1914, published 1920 [ medium voice and piano ], Milan, Ricordi [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Charles Gustave) Alban Cocural Dorcy (1856 - 1931), "La Chanson du fou", published 1890 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vingt mélodies pour chant et piano, no. 9, Éd. V. Durdilly & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pierre-Octave Ferroud (1900 - 1936), "Chanson d'Elespuru", 1936, published 1957, first performed 1936 [ baritone or tenor and piano or orchestra ], from Trois chansons de Fous, no. 2, Éd. Durand [sung text not yet checked]
- by Albert Graud , "La Chanson du fou", subtitle: "Ballade", <<1875 [ medium voice, unaccompanied ], Éd. L. Vieillot [sung text not yet checked]
- by Léon Charles François Kreutzer (1817 - 1868), "Vieille Chanson" [ high voice and piano ], from 26 mélodies pour chant et piano, no. 2, Éd. Richault [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hippolyte Monpou (1804 - 1841), "La chanson du fou de Cromwell", published 1835 [ medium voice and piano or guitar ], Éd. Meissonnier [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alexis Jean Hubert Rostand (1844 - 1919), "La chanson du fou" [ high voice and piano ], from Vingt mélodies, no. 9, Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel et Fils [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eugène Wintzweiller (1844 - 1870), "Chanson du fou", published 1875 [ high voice and piano ], from Mélodies posthumes de Wintzweiller, no. , Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Peter Low) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2020, (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: 24
Word count: 66
At sunset, you who are seeking your fortune, watch out you don't stumble; the earth is brown in the evening. The deceptive ocean covers the dunes with spray. Look, on the horizon, no houses, not one! Thieves are following you – That is common at night. The ladies of the woods sometimes have grudges against us. They will be roaming: be afraid that you might meet one. The goblins of the air will be dancing in the moonlight.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translator's note: This menacing text originated as a theatre song in Hugo’s play Cromwell, where it is sung by one of the fools of the court.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2017 by Peter Low, (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 Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), "La chanson du fou", appears in Odes et Ballades, in 6. Ballades - 1823-1828, no. 10a
This text was added to the website: 2017-06-02
Line count: 24
Word count: 78