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Il n'est pas besoin d'une pierre Aux lieux où reposent nos morts. Notre cœur est leur cimetière Qui garde, vivant reliquaire Leur souvenir comme un trésor. Il n'est pas besoin de couronnes Pour fleurir leur dernier repos ; Le seule palme qu'on leur donne Survit aux rouilles de l'automne Et pousse à l'ombre du drapeau. Il n'est pas besoin de prière Pour leur ouvrir le paradis, Car Dieu reçoit, en sa lumière, Ceux qui l'ont bien servi sur terre Et qui meurent pour leur patrie.
Authorship
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)
- by Reynaldo Hahn (1874 - 1947), "À nos morts ignorés", 1915, published 1918 [ medium voice and piano ], from Mélodies - 2ème volume, no. 16, Paris, Heugel [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Garrett Medlock) , "To our unknown dead", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Jacques L'oiseleur des Longchamps
This text was added to the website: 2015-11-01
Line count: 15
Word count: 85
There is no need for a stone At the places where rest our dead. Our heart is their cemetery Which keeps, [a] living reliquary, Their memory like a treasure. There is no need for crowns To decorate with flowers their final rest; The only palm that they are given Survives the rust of autumn And grows in the shade of the flag. There is no need for prayer To open paradise [for] them, Because God receives, in his light, Those who have served Him well on earth And who die for their homeland.
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 Louis Hennevé
This text was added to the website: 2019-02-20
Line count: 15
Word count: 93