J'implore ta pitié, Toi, l'unique que j'aime, Du fond du gouffre obscur où mon cœur est tombé. C'est un univers morne à l'horizon plombé, Où nagent dans la nuit l'horreur et le blasphème ; Un soleil sans chaleur plane au-dessus six mois, Et les six autres mois la nuit couvre la terre ; C'est un pays plus nu que la terre polaire ; — Ni bêtes, ni ruisseaux, ni verdure, ni bois ! Or il n'est pas d'horreur au monde qui surpasse La froide cruauté de ce soleil de glace, Et cette immense nuit semblable au vieux Chaos ; Je jalouse le sort des plus vils animaux Qui peuvent se plonger dans un sommeil stupide Tant l'écheveau du temps lentement se dévide !
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du mal, Paris: Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, 1857, in Spleen et Idéal, pages 69-70. Also confirmed with Charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du mal, Paris: Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, 1861, in Spleen et Idéal, pages 70-71. Also confirmed with Charles Baudelaire, Œuvres complètes de Charles Baudelaire, vol. I : Les Fleurs du mal, Paris: Michel Lévy frères, 1868, in Spleen et Idéal, page 130. Punctuation follows 1857 edition. Note: this was number 28 in the 1857 edition of Les Fleurs du mal but number 30 or 31 in subsequent editions.
First published April 9, 1851 as "La Béatrix" in Le Messager de l'Assemblée. Also published June 1, 1855 as "Le Spleen" in Revue des Deux Mondes. The title "De profundis clamavi" is used in all editions of Les Fleurs du mal.
Text Authorship:
- by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 1. Spleen et Idéal, no. 30, Paris, Le Messager de l'Assemblée, first published 1851 [author's text checked 4 times 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 Nicolas Chevereau (b. 1989), "De profundis clamavi", 2015, published 2017, first performed 2016 [ baritone and piano ], from Cinq Poèmes de Baudelaire pour baryton et piano, no. 4, Sampson (France), Éd. Delatour [sung text not yet checked]
- by Germain Desbonnet (1938 - 2007), "De profundis clamavi", 1978, published 1985 [ high voice and piano ], from Mélodies, no. 3, Éd. du compositeur [sung text not yet checked]
- by Poul Rovsing Olsen (1922 - 1982), "De profundis", 1981, published 1999 [ low voice and piano ], from Deux Mélodies, no. 2, Copenhagen, Samfundet til udgivelse af Dansk Music (The Society for the publication of Danish Music) [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Stefan George (1868 - 1933) , first published 1891 ; composed by Alban Maria Johannes Berg.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "De profundis clamavi"
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "De Profundis clamavi", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ROM Romanian (Română) (Alexandru I. Philippide) , "De profundis clamavi"
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-06
Line count: 14
Word count: 117
Zu dir, du einzig Teure, dringt mein Schrei Aus tiefster Schlucht, darin mein Herz gefallen. Dort ist die Gegend tot, die luft wie Blei. Und in dem Finstern fluch und schrecken wallen. Sechs Monde steht die Sonne ohne warm. In sechsen lagert das Dunkel auf der Erde. Sogar nicht das Polarland ist so arm. Nicht einmal Bach und Baum noch Feld noch Herde. Erreicht doch keine schreckgeburt des Hirnes Das kalte Grausen dieses Eis-Gestirnes Und dieser nacht o ein Chaos riesengross ! Ich neide des gemeinsten Tieres los Das tauchen kann in stumpfen Schlafes Schwindel... So langsam rollt sich ab der Zeiten Spindel!
Text Authorship:
- by Stefan George (1868 - 1933), first published 1891 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 1. Spleen et Idéal, no. 30, Paris, Le Messager de l'Assemblée, first published 1851
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Alban Maria Johannes Berg (1885 - 1935), "De Profundis clamavi", 1926 [ soprano and string quartet (2 violins, viola, and violoncello) ], from Lyrische Suite [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Manuel Capdevila i Font) , "De profundis clamavi", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Auditorium du Louvre
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-06
Line count: 14
Word count: 102