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Souvent je rêve, ô chère enfant, Que nous [voguons]1, seuls, loin du monde, Au gré de la vague et du vent, Sur la mer houleuse et profonde. La vaste mer aux flots plombés, Gronde, sombre et mystérieuse, Et nous sommes seuls, absorbés Dans notre extase insoucieuse. La vague bondit en fureur, Je te tiens dans mes bras serrée, Et [furieux aussi]2, mon cœur Bat dans ma poitrine enfiévrée. Mon amour fier et triomphant Grandit au bruit de la tourmente, Et toi, sur mon sein, chère enfant, Tu te rejettes, frissonnante. Tu lèves d'un air anxieux Vers moi ta prunelle azurée ; Tu lis le bonheur dans mes yeux. Et tu me souris, rassurée... Comme des coursiers épuisés Les flots retombent blancs d'écume, Peu à peu les vents apaisés S'endorment sur la mer qui fume. Profonde paix des flots calmés ! Sur mon épaule tu reposes Ta tête aux cheveux embaumés... O paix, calme profond des choses ! Nos cœurs s'écoutent palpiter, Et tu me parles à l'oreille, Tout bas, pour ne pas irriter La mer songeuse, qui sommeille. La lune, à l'orient plus pur, Lentement soulève ses voiles ; Dieu, sur l'infini de l'azur, Fait pleuvoir des milliers d'étoiles. Et moi, comme un dieu bien-heureux, Sur tes yeux je [sème]3 en silence [De tièdes baisers, plus]4 nombreux Que les astres du ciel immense.
E. Lalo sets stanzas 1-6, 10
Confirmed with Revue des Deux Mondes. XLVIIe Année - Troisième Période, Paris, Bureau de la Revue des Deux Mondes, 1877, pages 685-686.
1 Lalo: "errons"2 Lalo: "plus sauvage encor"
3 Lalo: "fais"
4 Lalo: "Pleuvoir des baisers plus"
Text Authorship:
- by (Claude Adhémar) André Theuriet (1833 - 1907), "Marine" [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 Edouard Lalo (1823 - 1892), "Marine", op. 33 (1883), stanzas 1-6,10 [ low voice and piano or orchestra ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , copyright © 2023, (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: 40
Word count: 225
Often I dream, oh dear child, That we [sail]1 alone, far from the civilized world, At the mercy of waves and wind, Over the sea, rough and deep. The vast sea with leaden waves Rumbles, dark and mysterious, And we are alone, absorbed In our carefree ecstasy. A wave crashes in fury, I hold on to you tightly, And [yet more furiously]2, my heart Beats in my breast feverishly. My love, proud and triumphant, Grows with the sounds of the tempest, And you, clasped to my breast, dear child, You pull back, shivering. You look up anxiously Toward me, your eyes reflecting the azure sky; You read the happiness in my eyes. And you smile at me, reassured… Just like messengers who are exhausted, The waves break, white with foam, Little by little the becalmed winds Fall asleep over the ocean mist. [... ... ... ...] [... ... ... ...] [... ... ... ...] And I, like a blissful god, Onto your eyes, I silently [Sow]3 more kisses Than there are stars in the immense sky.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Translator's note for stanza 2, line 1: the surface of the open sea is often marked by slow, dark swells, gently heaving up and down, contrasting with crashing whitecaps in windy waters.
1 Lalo: "drift"2 Lalo: "more wild still"
3 Lalo: "Rain down"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2023 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by (Claude Adhémar) André Theuriet (1833 - 1907), "Marine"
This text was added to the website: 2023-10-14
Line count: 40
Word count: 168