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Myrto ne sait pas de chansons, Les filles la trouvent sauvage. On la fuit, et les beaux garçons Ne l’embrassen pas au passage. Elle s’en va loin des maisons S’asseoir près de la mer immense. Nul ne regrette son absence: Myrto ne sait pas de chansons, Myrto ne sait pas de chansons. Noël vient, vêtu de glaçons: On danse autour du feu qui brille; Nul n’invite la pauvre fille. Myrto ne sait pas de chansons, Myrto ne sait pas de chansons. Mais elle sait le chant austère Qui vibre au coeur silencieux, Et que n’écoute point la terre: Myrto, Myrto, Myrto sait la chanson des cieux!
Authorship
- by Armand Silvestre (1837 - 1901), appears in Poésies 1861-1874, in 1. Les amours, in 2. Vers pour être chantés, in Myrto, no. 3, first published 1866 [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 Léo Delibes (1836 - 1891), "Myrto", published 1885 [mezzo-soprano and piano], from Quinze mélodies, deux chœurs, no. 3, Éd. Hartmann & Cie. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
- by Alexis Jean Hubert Rostand (1844 - 1919), "Myrto" [medium voice and piano], from Vingt mélodies, no. 11, Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel et Fils [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Garrett Medlock) , "Myrto", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-02-09
Line count: 18
Word count: 106
Myrto knows nothing of songs, The girls find her untamed. [They] flee [from] her, and the handsome boys Do not kiss her in passing [by]. She goes far from the houses, Sitting near the immense sea. No one regrets her absence: Myrto knows nothing of songs, Myrto knows nothing of songs. Christmas comes, dressed in icicles: [Everyone] dances around the fire which shines; No one invites the poor girl. Myrto knows nothing of songs, Myrto knows nothing of songs. But she knows the austere singing Which resonates in the silent heart, And which the earth does not heed: Myrto, Myrto, Myrto knows the song of the skies!
Authorship
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2019 by Garrett Medlock, (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:
- a text in French (Français) by Armand Silvestre (1837 - 1901), appears in Poésies 1861-1874, in 1. Les amours, in 2. Vers pour être chantés, in Myrto, no. 3, first published 1866
This text was added to the website: 2019-02-09
Line count: 18
Word count: 107