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It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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Translation © by Emily Ezust

Ma vie a son secret
Language: French (Français)  after the French (Français) 
Our translations:  ENG
Ma vie a son secret, mon âme a son mystère:
Un amour éternel en un moment conçu:
Le mal est sans remède, aussi j'ai dû le taire,
Et celle qui l'a fait n'en a jamais rien su.

Ainsi j'aurai passé près d'elle inaperçu,
Toujours à ses côtés et toujours solitaire,
Et j'aurai jusqu'au bout, fait mon temps sur la terre,
N'osant rien demander et n'ayant rien reçu.

Pour elle, que le ciel a faite douce et tendre,
Elle suit son chemin, distraite et sans entendre
La murmure d'amour élevé sur ses pas.

À l'austère devoir pieusement fidèle,
Elle dira, lisant ces vers tout remplis d'elle;
"Quelle est donc cette femme?" et ne comprendra pas.

The text shown is a variant of another text. [ View differences ]
It is based on

  • a text in French (Français) by Félix Arvers (1806 - 1850), "Sonnet imité de l'italien", written 1833, appears in Mes heures perdues, Poésies, Paris, Éd. Fournier jeune, first published 1833
    • Go to the text page.

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 Bizet (1838 - 1875), "Ma vie a son secret", op. 21 no. 8 (1868), published 1873 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vingt mélodies pour chant et piano, no. 8, Paris, Éd. Choudens [sung text checked 1 time]

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "My life has its secret", copyright © 2019


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2003-10-18
Line count: 14
Word count: 114

My life has its secret
Language: English  after the French (Français) 
My life has its secret, my soul has its mystery:
An eternal love conceived in one moment:
The illness is without remedy, so I had to silence it,
And she who caused it never knew anything about it.

Thus I will have passed near her unperceived,
Ever at her side -- and ever solitary;
And up to the end of my time on the earth
I will never have dared to ask anything -- and will have received nothing.

As for her, whom Heaven has made sweet and tender,
She follows her path, preoccupied and without hearing
The murmur of love arising from her footsteps.

To her austere duty piously faithful,
She will say, reading these verses full of her:
"Who is this woman then?" -- and will not understand.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2019 by Emily Ezust

    Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:

    Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
    from the LiederNet Archive

    For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
    licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in French (Français) by Not Applicable [an adaptation]
    • Go to the text page.

Based on:

  • a text in French (Français) by Félix Arvers (1806 - 1850), "Sonnet imité de l'italien", written 1833, appears in Mes heures perdues, Poésies, Paris, Éd. Fournier jeune, first published 1833
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2019-11-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 127

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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