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Ma belle cousine, je pars en voyage
Et je passe près de votre maison ;
Je m'en vais à Rouen et puis au Havre
Si le temps est bon.
Le soleil se lève sur la grand'route
Et le matin descend dans le vallon ;
Mais vous dormez encor sans doute,
Votre blanc bonnet sur vos cheveux blonds.
Dormez : la bise pique comme en hiver
Et je ne veux pas vous éveiller si tôt
Pour trinquer au son clair des verres
En buvant trois doigts de bon vieux bordeaux.
Je m'en vais voir la ville aux vingt églises
Dont les mille clochetons grêles
Effilent leur dentelle de pierre grise
Dans le ciel parmi les tours et les tourelles.
Mais vous, dormez : le soir au retour j'entrerai
Si je vois de la lumière aux fenêtres
Causer un peu, cousine, et vous me sourirez
Peut-être...
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Tristan Klingsor, Le Valet de cœur, Poèmes, deuxième édition, Paris, Société du Mercure de France, 1908, pages 169-170.
Text Authorship:
- by Arthur Justin Léon Leclère (1874 - 1966), as Tristan Klingsor, "Le passant", written 1899-1902, appears in Le valet de cœur: poèmes, in 6. Le valet de cœur, no. 5, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1908 [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 Georges Adolphe Hüe (1858 - 1948), "Le passant", published 1912 [ high voice and piano ], from Chansons du valet de cœur, no. 4, Éd. Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Garrett Medlock) , "The passerby", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2016-12-05
Line count: 20
Word count: 140
My beautiful cousin, I am leaving on [a] journey And I am passing near your house; I am going to Rouen and then to Le Havre If the weather is good. The sun rises on the highway And morning descends into the valley; But you are sleeping still, without [a] doubt, Your white cap on your blonde hair. Sleep: the kiss pricks as in winter And I do not want to wake you so soon To toast with clear glasses [By] drinking three fingers of good, old Bordeaux. I am going to see the city with twenty churches In which [a] thousand skinny bell towers Sharpen their teeth with grey stone In the sky among the towers and the turrets. But you, sleep: [in] the evening, returning I will come in, If I see the light in the windows, To chat a little, cousin, and you will smile at me Perhaps...
Text 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: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Arthur Justin Léon Leclère (1874 - 1966), as Tristan Klingsor, "Le passant", written 1899-1902, appears in Le valet de cœur: poèmes, in 6. Le valet de cœur, no. 5, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1908
This text was added to the website: 2019-03-14
Line count: 20
Word count: 151