Fallen Leaves | Here are the pitiful fallen leaves

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 licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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.

by Maurice Vaucaire (1864 - 1918)

Translation © by Laura Prichard

Feuilles mortes

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Voici les pauvres feuilles mortes :
Nous les vîmes une autrefois,
Plus vivantes et plus accortes,
Images du destin narquois
Il y en a de bien des sortes !

Voici les pauvres feuilles mortes,
Serments, rêves, baisers, hélas !
Que désiraient des ámes fortes,
Et qu’ont reniés des cœurs las,
Il y en a de tant de sortes !

Voici les pauvres feuilles mortes,
Désertant jardin et maison,
Courtes amourettes qu’emporte
Le premier froid de la saison,
Il y en a de toutes, sortes.

Text Authorship:

by Maurice Vaucaire (1864 - 1918) [author's text not yet checked 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 Stéphane Raoul Pugno (1852 - 1914), "Feuilles mortes", published 1908 [ baritone or mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Cloches du Souvenir, no. 6, Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Henri Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
by George Templeton Strong (1856 - 1948), "Feuilles mortes", 1931, published [1931] [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ], from Cinq mélodies pour chant et piano, no. 1, Genève, Éd. du Siècle Musical [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "Fallen Leaves", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Laura Prichard [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-08-07
Line count: 15
Word count: 80

Fallen Leaves

Language: English after the French (Français)

Here are the pitiful fallen leaves:
We saw them, once upon a time,
More alive and more graceful,
Images of [our own] ironic destiny:
There are so many kinds!

Here are the pitiful fallen leaves,
Oaths, dreams, kisses, alas!
Desired by powerful souls,
And denied by weary hearts,
There have so many different forms!
 
Here are the pitiful fallen leaves,
Strewn around the deserted garden and house,
Brief crushes blown away by
The first cold snap of the season,
They are of every sort and kind.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 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 Maurice Vaucaire (1864 - 1918)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-10-08
Line count: 15
Word count: 86