In the stand of wild mimosa | In the stand of wild mimosa

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by Max Jacob (1876 - 1944)

Translation © by Laura Prichard

Dans le buisson de mimosas

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Dans le buisson de mimosa
qu’est-ce qui n’y a?
y a le lézard qui n’osa
mettre ses yeux dans les oseilles
la fleur dite le bouton d’or
et le plant nommé sensitive
qui me dit-on s’ouvre à l’aurore
et prend la forme d’une olive
Là y a aussi Hortense
y a les boules azurées
du céleste hortensia
et la troupe argentée
d’herbes folles de rire
Dans le buisson de mimosa
qu’est-ce qui n’y a
le fils de la mercière
et la fille du bougnat.

Text Authorship:

by Max Jacob (1876 - 1944), appears in Ballades, first published 1938 [author's text not yet checked 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 Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963), "Dans le buisson de mimosas", FP. 22 no. 4 [baritone and woodwinds], from Quatre poèmes de Max Jacob, no. 4. [ sung text verified 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "In the stand of wild mimosa", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Laura Prichard [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2018-01-04
Line count: 17
Word count: 84

In the stand of wild mimosa

Language: English after the French (Français)

In the stand of wild mimosa
what’s there?
there’s the lizard who dared not
rest his eyes in the sorrel
the flower called buttercup
and the seedling called sensitive¹
who they tell me opens at dawn
and takes the form of an olive
Hortense is there too
there in the azure blossoms
of celestial hydrangea
and the silver troop
of crazy weeds laughing
In the stand of mimosa
who’s there?
the son of the lady cloth merchant
and the daughter of of the coal merchant.

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ The Mimosa pudica, a fern-like plant whose compound leaves curl up when touched or shaken.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2018 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 Max Jacob (1876 - 1944), appears in Ballades, first published 1938
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2018-01-04
Line count: 17
Word count: 86