Et s'il revenait un jour, Que faut-il lui dire? - Dites-lui qu'on l'attendit Jusqu'à s'en mourir... Et s'il m'interroge encore Sans me reconnaître? - Parlez-lui comme une sœur. Il souffre peut-être... Et s'il demande où vous êtes Que faut-il répondre? - Donnez-lui mon anneau d'or, Sans rien lui répondre... Et s'il veut savoir pourquoi La salle est déserte? - Montrez-lui la lampe éteinte Et la porte ouverte... Et s'il m'interroge alors Sur la dernière heure? - Dites-lui que j'ai souri De peur qu'il ne pleure...
A. Dami sets stanzas 1, 3-5
About the headline (FAQ)
First published in the revue La Société Nouvelle, IX (9), March 1893, Bruxelles; then in Douze chansons, Paris, Stock, 1896; and later in Quinze chansons, Bruxelles, Lacomblez, 1900.
Text Authorship:
- by Maurice Maeterlinck (1862 - 1949), no title, written 1893, appears in Quinze Chansons, no. 2 [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 Jean Absil (1893 - 1974), "L'infidèle", op. 12 no. 2 (1933), published 1962 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano ], from Quatre poèmes de Maeterlinck, no. 2, Bruxelles, Éd. CéBeDeM [sung text not yet checked]
- by George Beach (c1893 - 1951), "Chanson", published 1925 [ voice and piano ], from Poèmes Lyriques, no. 3, Paris, M. Senart (Salabert) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Béesau (1871 - 1940), "Et s'il revenait un jour", published 1920 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vingt mélodies, no. 10, Paris, Senart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adolphe Biarent (1871 - 1916), "Chanson" [ voice and piano ], from Huit mélodies, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by J. Dagand , "Et s'il revenait un jour", op. 101 no. 1 (<<1920) [ high voice and piano ], from Chants gothiques, no. 1, Paris, Éd. Maurice Senart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alfonso Dami (1842 - 1927), "L'infidèle", copyright © 1924, stanzas 1,3-5 [ voice and piano ], from Quatre mélodies, Genève : Editions Henri Challande [sung text checked 1 time]
- by René Defossez (1905 - 1988), "L'infidèle", 1933-4 [ contralto or baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marc Delmas (1885 - 1931), "S'il revenait un jour ...", 1914, published 1914 [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. L. Grus [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marie-Joseph-Alexandre Déodat de Séverac (1872 - 1921), "L'infidèle", 1900, published [1900] [ medium voice and piano ], Éd. E. Demets [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Henry Deutsch de la Meurthe (1846 - 1919), "Et s'il revenait un jour", 1906 [ medium voice and piano ], from Mélodies, no. 10, Éd. L. Grus & Cie.  [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gabriel-André Fabre (1858 - 1921), "Et s'il revenait un jour", 1898 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Gaston Knosp (1874 - 1942), "Chanson", published 1911 [ high voice and piano ], from Six Mélodies, no. 3, Bruxelles, Éd. Schott Frères [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ellen Kullmann , "Chanson", <<1911 [ medium voice and piano ], from Mélodies, poésies de Maeterlinck, no. 3, Éd. F. Durdilly [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marcel Levallois , "Et s'il revenait un jour", published 1906? [ voice and piano ], Éd. Bellon, Ponscarme [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alberto Mazzuoli , "L'Infidèle" [ vocal duet with piano ], from Pagine d'Album, Otto Melodie per Canto e Pianoforte, no. 6, Milan, Ricordi [sung text not yet checked]
- by Erkki Gustaf Melartin (1875 - 1937), "Et s'il revenait un jour", op. 71 no. 1 (1913) [ voice and piano ], from Trois chansons avec piano = Three songs with piano, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Max d'Ollone (1875 - 1959), "Chanson", 1904, published 1911 [ medium voice and piano ], from Les chants de la nuit, no. 1, Paris, Éd. Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Irena Regina Poldowski (1880 - 1932), as Bernard de Lisle (Lady D. P.), "Et s'il revenait un jour", <<1907 [ voice and piano ], included in a literary supplement of Le Figaro, December 7th, 1907 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Madeleine Roman-Lauvière , "S'il revenait un jour", <<1923 [ medium voice, piano, cello ], Paris, Éd. Maurice Senart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Silver (1868 - 1949), "L'Infidèle", published 1912 [ medium voice and piano ], from Chants tendres et gais, no. 3, Paris, Éd. L. Grus & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
- by André Soyer (1882 - 1965), "L'Infidèle", published 1923 [ medium voice and string quartet ], from Quatre Mélodies, no. 4, Paris, Éd. Maurice Senart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henri Stierlin-Vallon (1887 - 1952), "Et s'il revenait un jour", published 1919 [ voice and piano ], from Chansons tristes, 7 poèmes de Maurice Maeterlinck, no. 4, Genève, Ad. Henn [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pierre Uga (b. 1931), "Et s'il revenait un jour ?", 2012 [ vocal duet for 2 high voices with piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Catharina Van Rennes (1858 - 1940), "Et s'il revenait un jour", op. 66 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Henry Clough-Leighter.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Friedrich von Oppeln-Bronikowski (1873 - 1936) , Jena, E. Diederichs, first published 1906 ; composed by Alexander Zemlinsky.
- Also set in Italian (Italiano), a translation by Vittoria Aganoor Pompilj (1855 - 1910) ; composed by Ottorino Respighi.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov (1873 - 1924) , no title ; composed by Mikhail Vladimirovich Ivanov-Boretsky.
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 80
Und kehrt er einst heim, was sag ich ihm dann? Sag, ich hätte geharrt, bis das Leben verrann. Wenn er weiter fragt und erkennt mich nicht gleich? Sprich als Schwester zu ihm; er leidet vielleicht. Wenn er fragt, wo du seist, was geb ich ihm an? Mein' Goldring gib und sieh ihn stumm an... Will er wissen, warum so verlassen das Haus? Zeig die offne Tür, sag, das Licht ging aus. Wenn er weiter fragt nach der letzten Stund'... Sag, aus Furcht, daß er weint, lächelte mein Mund.
Text Authorship:
- by Friedrich von Oppeln-Bronikowski (1873 - 1936), Jena, E. Diederichs, first published 1906 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Maurice Maeterlinck (1862 - 1949), no title, written 1893, appears in Quinze Chansons, no. 2
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Alexander Zemlinsky (1871 - 1942), "Und kehrt er einst heim", op. 13 (Sechs Lieder auf Gedichte von Maurice Maeterlinck) no. 5 (1910) [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-04
Line count: 20
Word count: 88