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by Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs

La nuit
Language: French (Français) 
C’est moi maintenant qui le recherche. 
Chaque nuit, très doucement, je quitte la maison, 
et je vais par une longue route, 
jusqu’à sa prairie, le regarder dormir.

Quelquefois je reste longtemps sans parler, 
heureuse de le voir seulement, 
et j’approche mes lèvres des siennes, 
pour ne baiser que son haleine.

Puis tout à coup je m’étends sur lui. 
Il se réveille dans mes bras, 
et il ne peut plus se relever car je lutte ! 
Il renonce, et rit, et m’étreint. 
Ainsi nous jouons dans la nuit.

… Première aube, ô clarté méchante, toi déjà ? 
En quel antre toujours nocturne, 
sur quelle prairie souterraine pourrons-nous 
si longtemps aimer, que nous perdions ton souvenir ?…

Confirmed with Œuvres complètes de Pierre Louÿs, 1929 - 1931, tome 2 (1894 (Chansons de Bilitis)), Paris, Slatkine reprints, 1973, page 60.

Note: this is a prose text. The line breaks are arbitrary.


Text Authorship:

  • by Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs, "La nuit", written 1894, appears in Les Chansons de Bilitis, in Bucoliques en Pamphylie, no. 44, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1897 [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 Dandelot (1895 - 1975), "La nuit", 1924, published 1929, first performed 1929 [ high voice and piano ], from Six Chansons de Bilitis, 1er recueil, no. 4, Paris, Éd. Max Eschig [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Aimée Strohl (1865 - 1941), "La nuit", published 1900 [ high voice and piano ], from Bilitis, Poème en 12 chants, no. 11, Paris, Éd. Toledo & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2019-04-09
Line count: 17
Word count: 113

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