La vie est vaine :
Un peu d'amour,
Un peu de haine...
Et puis - bonjour !
La vie est brève :
Un peu d'espoir,
un peu de rêve...
Et puis - bonsoir !
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Parnasse de la jeune Belgique, sous la direction littéraire de MM. Iwan Gilkin, Albert Giraud et Max Waller, Paris: Léon Vanier, 1887, page 223.
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 Emile Desportes (d. 1944), "La Vie est vaine", published 1907 [ voice and piano ], Paris, B. Roudanez [sung text not yet checked]
- by Napoleon Lambelet (1864 - 1932), "La Vie", published 1897 [ voice and piano ], London, Francis, Day & Hunter [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pietro Lanciani (1857 - 1912), "Peu de chose", <<1890 [ voice and piano ], Paris, P. Schott & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin (1862 - 1901), "La Vie", published 1894 [ voice and piano ], G. Schirmer, jr (The Boston Music Company) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Reid-Taylor , "La Vie est vaine", published 1931 [ voice and piano ], Paris, Maurice Senart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Teresa del Riego (c1876 - 1968), "La Vie est vaine", published 1902 [ voice and piano ], London, Chappell & Co Ltd [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Edward Frederick Lockton (1876 - 1940) ; composed by Ellen Riley, as Ellen Wright.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Peter Low) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: François Le Roux
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2022-11-24
Line count: 8
Word count: 29
Life is futile:
a little love,
a little hate...
and then - good day!
Life is brief:
a little hope,
a little dreaming...
and then - good night!