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by Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (1895 - 1952), as Paul Éluard

Cet enfant aurait pu menti
Language: French (Français) 
Cet enfant aurait pu menti
Et se sauver
‎
La molle plaine infranchissable
Cet enfant n'aimait pas mentir
Il cria très fort ses forfaits
‎
Il opposa sa vérité
La vérité
Comme une épée à ses bourreaux
Comme une épée sa loi suprême
‎
Et ses bourreaux se sont vengés
Ils ont fait défiler la mort
L'espoir la mort l'espoir la mort
Ils l'ont gracié puis ils l'ont tué
On l'avait durement traité
Ses pieds ses mains étaient brisés
Dit le gardien du cimetière.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (1895 - 1952), as Paul Éluard, no title, appears in Les Armes de la douleur, no. 3, first published 1944 [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 Edward Staempfli (1908 - 2002), "Cet enfant aurait pu menti", published 1946 [ contralto and piano ], from Les Armes de la douleur, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2021-01-23
Line count: 19
Word count: 84

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