Couche‑toi sur la grève et prends en tes...
Language: French (Français)
Couche-toi sur la grève et prends en tes deux mains,
Pour le laisser couler ensuite, grain par grain,
De ce beau sable blond que le soleil fait d'or;
Puis, avant de fermer les yeux, contemple encor
La mer harmonieuse et le ciel transparent,
Et, quand tu sentiras, peu à peu, doucement,
Que rien ne pèse plus à tes mains plus légères,
Avant que de nouveau tu rouvres tes paupières,
Songe que notre vie à nous emprunte et mêle
Son sable fugitif à la grève éternelle.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Y. Ch. Delevoye , "Sur la grève", published [1913] [ high voice and piano ], from Médailles d'Argile, no. 1, Paris, Éd. Maurice Senart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jacques de Fontenailles (1888 - 1914), "Sur la grève", 1911, published 1924 [ medium voice and piano ], from 14 Mélodies, no. 10, Éd. Rouart, Lerolle et Cie [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Jongen (1873 - 1953), "Sur la grève", op. 57 (Cinq mélodies) no. 4 (1917/8) [ soprano and piano or orchestra; or soprano, piano, and string quartet ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pierre, Baron de Maurice (1868 - 1936), "Couche toi sur la grève", op. 29 (1922), published 1922 [ high voice and piano ], Genève, Éd. Ad. Henn [sung text not yet checked]
- by Aleksandr Strugov (b. 1966), "Sur la grève" [ vocal duet for 2 sopranos and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Peter Low) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- RUS Russian (Русский) [singable] (Maximilian Alexandrovich Kirienko-Voloshin) , "Приляг на отмели"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-09-02
Line count: 10
Word count: 85
Lie down on the beach and take sand in...
Language: English after the French (Français)
Lie down on the beach and take sand in your two hands
and then let it flow down, grain by grain
of this beautiful blond sand that the sun makes golden;
then, before closing your eyes, gaze again
on the harmonious sea and the transparent sky,
and when you gradually, gently, feel
that nothing weighs any more in your lighter hands,
before you again open your eyelids,
think that this life of ours borrows its fleeting
sand from the eternal beach with which it mingles.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "Sur la grève" = "On the beach"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2022 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.
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Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2022-10-31
Line count: 10
Word count: 85