La Feuille de peuplier
Language: French (Français)
Our translations: CHI ENG
Feuille mobile et tremblante,
Sur ta tige vacillante
N'es-tu jamais en repos?
On dirait qu'un vent de bise
T'agite, à la moindre brise
Qui se glisse dans les rameaux.
Comme à la harpe d'Eole,
Chaque zéphir qui s'envole
Te ravit de tristes bruits;
Quand sommeille la nature
J'entends en cor ton murmure
Dans le silence des nuits.
Quand donc ta branche flexible
Te verra-t-elle paisible?
Quand donc se taira ta voix?
Quand de ma tige arrachée
J'irai sur l'herbe séchée
Rejoindre mes soeurs des bois!
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):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , "杨叶", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "The poplar leaf", copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-13
Line count: 18
Word count: 85
The poplar leaf
Language: English after the French (Français)
Mobile, trembling leaf,
quivering on your stem,
are you never at rest?
The slightest breeze in the branches
makes it look like the north wind
is shaking you.
Like Aeolus' harp,
each zephyr draws
sad sounds from you.
When nature sleeps,
I still hear your murmur
in the night silence.
When will your flexible branch
ever see you at peace?
When will your voice be silent?
When I'm snatched from my stem
and have joined my forest sisters
on the dry grass!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2003 by Faith J. Cormier, (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: 2003-10-13
Line count: 18
Word count: 82