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Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind. Gas! GAS! Quick, boys! -- An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; But someone still was yelling out and stumbling And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime... Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. If in some smothering dreams you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, -- My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.1
1 Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori: a line from Horace's Odes (iii 2.13) meaning "How sweet and right it is to die for your country."
Authorship:
- by Wilfred Owen (1893 - 1918), "Dulce et decorum est", from Poems, first published 1920 [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 Aaron Alon , "Dulce et decorum est", 2007, first performed 2007. [baritone and string quartet] [ sung text verified 1 time]
- by Aaron Alon , "Dulce et decorum est", 2010, first performed 2010. [baritone and piano] [ sung text verified 1 time]
- by Algernon Bennet Langton Ashton (1859 - 1937), "Dulce et decorum est", published 1972. [baritone, three trumpets, three horns, three trombones, baritone horn, tuba] [ sung text not verified ]
- by Jason Rico (b. 1978), "Dulce et decorum est" [voice, piano] [ sung text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Il est doux et glorieux", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Jason Rico
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 28
Word count: 220
Pliés en deux, comme de vieux mendiants sous leurs sacs, Les genoux tremblants, toussant comme des sorcières, nous jurions à travers la boue, Jusqu'à ce que nous tournions le dos aux flammes obsédantes Et vers notre repos lointain commencions à nous traîner. Les hommes marchaient endormis. Beaucoup avaient perdu leurs bottes Mais claudiquaient, les pieds en sang. Tous allaient en boitant; tous aveugles ; Ivres de fatigue ; sourds même aux sifflements Des cinq-neufs fatigués, devancés, qui tombaient derrière. Les gaz ! les gaz ! Vite, les gars ! -- Une transe de tâtonnements, Enfilant les masques malcommodes juste à temps ; Mais quelqu'un hurlait encore et trébuchait Et titubait comme un homme dans des flammes ou englué... Indistinct, à travers les vitres embuées et l'épaisse lumière verte, Comme sous une mer verte, je le vis se noyer. Dans tous mes rêves, devant mon regard impuissant, Il plonge sur moi, vacillant, s'étouffant, se noyant. Si dans certains rêves étouffants, vous pouviez aussi marcher Derrière le chariot dans lequel nous l'avons jeté, Et voir les yeux blancs se tordant dans son visage, Son visage qui pend comme un démon malade de péché ; Si vous pouviez entendre, à chaque cahot, le sang Venir en gargouillant des poumons altérés par la mousse, Obscène comme un cancer, amer comme la bile De plaies ignobles et incurables sur des langues innocentes, -- Mon ami, vous ne diriez pas avec un si grand enthousiasme Aux enfants brûlant d'une gloire désespérée Le vieux mensonge : Il est doux et glorieux De mourir pour la patrie.
Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2017 by Guy Laffaille, (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.
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Based on:
- a text in English by Wilfred Owen (1893 - 1918), "Dulce et decorum est", from Poems, first published 1920
This text was added to the website: 2017-11-06
Line count: 28
Word count: 257