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Sans que nulle part je séjourne, Sur la pointe du gros orteil, Je tourne, je tourne, je tourne, A la feuille morte pareil ; Comme à l'instant où l'on trépasse, La terre, l'océan, l'espace, Devant mes yeux troublés tout passe, Jetant une même lueur ; Et ce mouvement circulaire, Toujours, toujours je l'accélère, Sans plaisir comme sans colère, Frissonnant malgré ma sueur. Dans les antres où l'eau s'enfourne, Sur les inaccessibles rocs, Je tourne, je tourne, je tourne, Sans le moindre souci des chocs. Dans les forêts, sur les rivages; À travers les bêtes sauvages, Et leurs émules en ravages, Les soldats qui vont sabre au poing, Au milieu des marchés d'esclaves, Au bord des volcans pleins de laves, Chez les Mogols et chez les Slaves, De tourner je ne cesse point. Soumis aux lois que rien n'ajourne, Aux lois que suit l'astre en son vol, Je tourne, je tourne, je tourne ; Mes pieds ne touchent plus le sol. Je monte au firmament nocturne ; Devant la lune taciturne, Devant Jupiter et Saturne, Je passe avec un sifflement, Et je franchis le Capricorne, Et je m'abîme au gouffre morne De la nuit complète et sans borne Où je tourne éternellement.
Confirmed with Les nuits persanes par Armand Renaud, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1870, pages 189-191.
Authorship:
- by Armand Renaud (1836 - 1895), "Tournoiement", appears in Les nuits persanes, in 10. Songes d'opium, , first published 1870 [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 Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "Tournoiement", subtitle: "Songe d'opium", op. 26 no. 6 (1870), published 1872 [ voice and piano ], from Mélodies persanes, no. 6, Éd. Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "Inebriation", subtitle: "Opium dream", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 36
Word count: 201
Without pausing in hesitation, On my tippy-toes, I turn, I turn, I turn, Like a falling leaf; Just as at the moment we cross over, The earth, the ocean, space, Before my troubled eyes, they all pass, radiating the same glow; And I continue my circular movements, Always, always accelerating, With as little pleasure as anger, Shivering in my own sweat. In caves where water plunges, Above the inaccessible rocks, I turn, I turn, I turn, Without the slightest concern for harm. In the forests, on the shorelines; Past the savage beasts And their ravaging rivals, Soldiers go with saber in hand, Into the heart of the slave markets, Near volcanoes brimming with lava, Into the homes of Mongols and Slavs, And I never stop turning. Subject to laws which no one is above, To laws governing stars in flight, I turn, I turn, I turn; My feet no longer touching the earth. I ascend into the night sky, Past the taciturn moon, Past Jupiter and Saturn I pass with a whistle, And I cross the constellation Capricorn, And I disappear into the gloomy chasm Of complete and limitless night Where I turn eternally.
Subtitle: "Opium dream"
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2021 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:
- a text in French (Français) by Armand Renaud (1836 - 1895), "Tournoiement", appears in Les nuits persanes, in 10. Songes d'opium, , first published 1870
This text was added to the website: 2021-03-11
Line count: 36
Word count: 194