Il est doux de se coucher, durant la...
Language: French (Français) after the Malagasy
Il est doux de se coucher, durant la chaleur,
sous un arbre touffu, et d'attendre que le vent
du soir amène la fraîcheur.
Femmes, approchez. Tandis que je me repose
ici sous un arbre touffu, occupez mon oreille
par vos accents prolongés. Répétez la chanson
de la jeune fille, lorsque ses doigts
tressent la natte, ou lorsqu'assise auprès du riz,
elle chasse les oiseaux avides.
Le chant plaît à mon âme. La danse est pour moi
presque aussi douce qu'un baiser. Que vos pas soient lents ;
qu'ils imitent les attitudes du plaisir
et l'abandon de la volupté.
Le vent du soir se lève ; la lune commence
à briller au travers des arbres de la montagne.
Allez, et préparez le repas.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Évariste de Parny, Chansons madécasses, chez Hardouin et Gattey, 1787, pages 19-20. Note: this is a prose text. We have added line-breaks.
Text Authorship:
Based on:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Peter Low) , no title, copyright © 2002, (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: 16
Word count: 120
It is sweet in the hot afternoon to lie
Language: English after the French (Français)
It is sweet in the hot afternoon to lie
under a leafy tree and wait for the evening breeze
to bring coolness.
Come, women! While I rest here
under a leafy tree, fill my ears
with your sustained tones. Sing again the song
of the girl plaiting her hair,
or the girl sitting near the ricefield
chasing away the greedy birds.
Singing pleases my soul; and dancing
is nearly as sweet as a kiss. Tread slowly,
and make your steps suggest the postures of pleasure
and ecstatic abandonment.
The breeze is starting to blow; the moon glistens
through the mountain trees.
Go and prepare the evening meal.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "Il est doux" = "It is sweet"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2002 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:
Based on:
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 107
