As well as the cicadas | People of noon people of noon you

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by Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki (1880 - 1918), as Guillaume Apollinaire

Translation © by Korin Kormick

Aussi bien que les cigales

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG GER

Gens du midi gens du midi vous n'avez
donc pas regardé les cigales que vous
ne savez pas creuser que vous ne savez
pas vous éclairer ni voir
Que vous manque-t'il donc pour voir aussi bien que les cigales
Mais vous savez encore boire comme
les cigales ô gens du midi gens du soleil
gens qui devriez savoir creuser et voir
aussi bien pour le moins aussi bien que les cigales
Eh quoi! vous savez boire et ne savez plus
pisser utilement comme les cigales
le jour de gloire sera celui où vous saurez
creuser pour bien sortir au soleil
creusez voyez buvez pissez comme les cigales
gens du midi il faut creuser voir boire pisser
aussi bien que les cigales pour chanter comme elles
La joie adorable de la paix solaire.

Text Authorship:

by Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki (1880 - 1918), as Guillaume Apollinaire, "Aussi bien que les cigales", appears in Calligrammes - Poèmes de la paix et de la guerre, in 5. Obus couleur de lune, first published 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 Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963), "Aussi bien que les cigales", FP 140 no. 6 (1948), published 1948 [ baritone and piano ], from Calligrammes, no. 6, Éd. Heugel [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Korin Kormick) , "As well as the cicadas", copyright © 2002, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Julia Henning) , "So wie die Zikaden", copyright © 2019, (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: 17
Word count: 132

As well as the cicadas

Language: English after the French (Français)

 People of noon people of noon you
 have not thus watched the cicadas that you
 do not know how to dig that you do not know
 how to illuminate yourselves nor to see
 So, what are you missing [that you need] to see as well as the cicadas
 But you still know how to drink like
 the cicadas oh people of noon people of the sun
 people who must know how to dig and see
 as well as for the least as well as the cicadas
 And what! You know how to drink and no longer know
 how to urinate usefully like the cicadas
 The day of glory will be the one when you know how
 to dig in order to go out well into the sun
 You dig you see you drink you piss like the cicadas
 People of noon you must dig see drink piss
 As well as the cicadas to sing as they do
 The lovable joy of the peace of the sun.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2002 by Korin Kormick, (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 Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki (1880 - 1918), as Guillaume Apollinaire, "Aussi bien que les cigales", appears in Calligrammes - Poèmes de la paix et de la guerre, in 5. Obus couleur de lune, first published 1918
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 17
Word count: 167