Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
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
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Je veux que le matin l'ignore Le nom que j'ai dit à la nuit, Et qu'au vent de l'aube, sans bruit, Comme une larme il s'évapore. Je veux que le jour le proclame L'amour qu'au matin j'ai caché, Et sur mon cœur ouvert penché, [Ainsi qu'un grain d'encens]1 l'enflamme. Je veux que le couchant l'oublie Le secret que j'ai dit au jour Et l'emporte, avec mon amour, Aux plis de sa robe pâlie !
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Armand Silvestre, Le pays des roses. Poésies nouvelles 1880-1882, Paris, G. Charpentier, 1882, pages 140-141.
1 Fauré: "Comme un grain d'encens il"Authorship:
- by Armand Silvestre (1837 - 1901), "Mystère", appears in Le Pays de Roses, poésies nouvelles 1880-1882, in 3. Vers pour être chantés [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 Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924), "Le secret", op. 23 no. 3 (1880-1), published 1881 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by François Luc Joseph Thomé (1850 - 1909), as Francis Thomé, "Mystère" [ medium voice and piano ], from Sept mélodies, no. 4, Paris, Henry Lemoine [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Peter Low) , no title, copyright © 2000, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Nele Gramß) , no title, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 74
I want the morning not to know the name that I told to the night; in the dawn wind, silently, may it evaporate like a teardrop. I want the day to proclaim the love that I hid from the morning, and (bent over my open heart) to set it aflame, like a grain of incense. I want the sunset to forget the secret I told to the day, and to carry it away with my love in the folds of its pale robe!
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "Le secret" = "The secret"Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2000 by Peter Low, (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.
Contact:
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Armand Silvestre (1837 - 1901), "Mystère", appears in Le Pays de Roses, poésies nouvelles 1880-1882, in 3. Vers pour être chantés
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 83