J'ai perdu ma force et ma vie, [Et]1 mes amis et ma gaieté ; J'ai perdu jusqu'à la fierté Qui faisait croire à mon génie. Quand j'ai connu la Vérité, J'ai cru que c'était une amie ; [Quand je l'ai comprise et sentie]2, J'en étais déjà dégoûté. Et pourtant elle est éternelle, Et ceux qui se sont passés d'elle Ici-bas ont tout ignoré. Dieu parle, il faut qu'on lui réponde. Le seul bien qui me reste au monde Est d'avoir quelquefois pleuré.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)First published in La Revue des deux mondes, December 1, 1841, and then in Poésies nouvelles, 1850.
1 omitted by Liszt.2 Liszt: "Quand je l'ai comprise, quand je l'ai sentie"
Text Authorship:
- by Louis Charles Alfred de Musset (1810 - 1857), "Tristesse", written 1840, appears in Poésies nouvelles, first published 1841 [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 Otto Bouwens van der Boijen (1872 - 1922), "Sonnet", op. 2, published 1905? [ medium voice and piano ], from Mélodies, no. 1, Éd. O. Bouwens van der Boijen & Cie [sung text not yet checked]
- by Fania Chapiro (1926 - 1994), "Tristesse", 1949 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Germain Desbonnet (1938 - 2007), "Tristesse", 1978, published 1985 [ medium voice and piano ], from Mélodies, no. 1, Éd. du compositeur [sung text not yet checked]
- by Auguste Descarries (1896 - 1958), "Tristesse", 1919, published 2019 [ voice piano ], Hélène Panneton, Association pour la diffusion de la musique d'Auguste Descarries (ADMAD) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charlotte Devéria, née Thomas (1856 - 1885), "Tristesse", <<1877 [ high voice and piano ], from 16 Mélodies pour chant avec accompagnement de piano, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marcel Gennaro (1886 - 1977), "Tristesse", published 1921 [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. R. Fornari [sung text not yet checked]
- by Franz (Ferenc) Liszt (1811 - 1886), "Tristesse", S. 327 (1872), published 1879 [ medium voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kahnt, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Emanuel Moór (1863 - 1931), "Tristesse", op. 91 no. 1 [ voice and piano ], from Deuxième Recueil de Mélodies, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernest Moret (1871 - 1949), "J'ai perdu ma force et ma vie", published 1904 [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean-Louis Petit (b. 1937), "Tristesse", 1997 [ high voice and piano ], from Livre de poésies, no. 12 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Auguste J. Schirlé (1895 - 1971), "Tristesse", op. 21 (Onze mélodies) no. 4, published 1930 [ medium voice and piano ], Montrouge, Éd. M.-A. Schirlé [sung text not yet checked]
- by José Segu (1873 - 1960), "Tristesse", 1925 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by André Wormser (1851 - 1926), "Tristesse", published [1879] [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. Théodore Michaelis [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Alfred von Meißner (1822 - 1885) ; composed by Franz Liszt.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Garrett Medlock) , 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: 14
Word count: 80
Ich verlor die Kraft und das Leben, meiner Freunde, den frohen Sinn. Selbst mein Stolz ist auf immer dahin, der einzig mir noch Halt gegeben. Da ich die Wahrheit zuerst erkannt, gab ganz ihr mein Herz ich zu eigen, da ich forschen wollte, in die Tiefen steigen, hab ich schaudernd mich abgewandt. Ach, und doch währt ewig ihr Walten, und wer nicht treu zu ihr gehalten, hat sein Erdendasein verneint. Gott redet; ich muß ihm Antwort geben: das einzge Gut, das mir bleibt im Leben, es sind Tränen, die ich einst geweint.
Text Authorship:
- by Alfred von Meißner (1822 - 1885) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Louis Charles Alfred de Musset (1810 - 1857), "Tristesse", written 1840, appears in Poésies nouvelles, first published 1841
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Franz (Ferenc) Liszt (1811 - 1886), "Ich verlor die Kraft und das Leben", S. 327 (1872), published 1879 [ voice and piano ], also set in French (Français) [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Virginia Knight
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 92