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Jamais elle ne raille,
Étant un calme esprit ;
Mais toujours elle rit. -
Voici des brins de mousse avec des brins de paille ;
Fauvette des roseaux,
Fais ton nid sur les eaux.
Quand sous la clarté [douce]1
Qui sort de tes beaux yeux,
On passe, on est [joyeux]2. -
Voici des brins de paille avec des brins de mousse ;
Martinet de l'azur,
Fais ton nid dans mon mur.
Dans l'aube avril se mire,
Et les rameaux fleuris
Sont pleins de petits cris. -
Voici de son regard, voici de son sourire,
Amour, ô doux vainqueur,
Fais ton nid dans mon cœur.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Victor Hugo, Les quatre vents de l'esprit, Paris, Émile Testard, 1889, pages 353-354.
1 Lecocq: "pouce"2 Lecocq: "heureux"
Text Authorship:
- by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), "Chanson d'autrefois", written 1855, appears in Les quatre vents de l'esprit, in 3. Le Livre Lyrique -- La Destinée, no. 13a, first published 1908 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Max Arham (flourished 1911-1917), "Chanson d'autrefois", <<1917 [ voice and piano ], from Douze mélodies, 4e série, no. 72, Paris, Maurice Sénart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray (1840 - 1910), "Chanson", published [1885] [ voice and piano ], from Six (Nouvelles) Mélodies, no. 3, Éd. Henri Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Alexandre) Charles Lecocq (1832 - 1918), "Les trois nids", published c1910 [ voice and piano ], from Chansons d'Amour, no. 19, Paris, Éd. Choudens [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Xavier Perreau (1856 - 1939), "Chanson d'autrefois", published 1894 [ tenor and piano ], from Cinq mélodies avec accompagnement de piano, no. 4, Paris, Éd. Librairie de l'Art indépendant [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pauline Viardot-García (1821 - 1910), "Chanson d'autrefois", VWV 1129 (1892) [ high voice and piano ], from Six mélodies suivies d'un duo pour 2 voix égales, no. 3, Éd. J. Hamelle [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
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2013-10-31
Line count: 18
Word count: 102
She never scoffs being a calm spirit; but she always laughs. - Here are some bits of moss with bits of straw: warbler of the reeds, make your nest on the waters. When one passes under the gentle brightness of your beautiful eyes, one is joyful. - Here are some bits of moss with bits of straw: swift of the blue sky, make your nest in my wall. April is reflected in the dawn, and the blossoming boughs are full of tiny cries. - Here is a bit of her gaze, a bit of her smile, Love, a gentle conqueror, make your nest in my heart.
About the headline (FAQ)
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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), "Chanson d'autrefois", written 1855, appears in Les quatre vents de l'esprit, in 3. Le Livre Lyrique -- La Destinée, no. 13a, first published 1908
This text was added to the website: 2022-12-12
Line count: 18
Word count: 103