by
Félix Gattegno (flourished c1941-1946)
Chanson de l'oranger sec
Language: French (Français)  after the Spanish (Español)
Bûcheron
Abats mon ombre
Délivre moi du supplice
De me voir sans oranges
Pourquoi suis-je né entre des miroirs
Le jour me fait tourner
et la nuit me copie
dans toutes ses étoiles
Je veux vivre sans me voir
Les fourmis et les liserons
Je rêverai que
ce sont mes feuilles et mes oiseaux
Bûcheron
Abats mon ombre
Délivre moi du supplice
De me voir sans oranges
Text Authorship:
Based on:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by William Stanley Merwin (b. 1927) , copyright © ; composed by Alvin Brehm.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "Song of the barren orange tree", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-16
Line count: 16
Word count: 67
Song of the barren orange tree
Language: English  after the French (Français)
Woodcutter
Chop down my shadow.
Deliver me from the torment
of seeing myself without oranges.
Why was I born between mirrors?
Day turns me around slowly
and night copies my movements
with all of its stars.
I want to live without seeing myself.
The ants and the bindweed,
I’ll dream they are
my leaves and my birds.
Woodcutter
Chop down my shadow.
Deliver me from the torment
of seeing myself without oranges.
Translator's notes
Line 2-2: "Day" - i.e., sunlight; "turns" - to turn, attracted by light, in the manner of a plant following the course of the sun in the sky
Line 3-1: "ants" - the French “fourmis” also suggests the expression “pins and needles”
Line 3-1: "bindweed" - trailing vine-like plants with purple or white funnel-shaped flowers, of the genera Calystegia and Convolvulus
Line 3-4 : "leaves" - also, blank sheets of papaer (in both Spanish and French)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2019 by Laura Prichard, (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.
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Based on:
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2019-12-03
Line count: 16
Word count: 73