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by Jean de La Fontaine (1621 - 1695)
Translation © by Grant Hicks
La cigale, ayant chanté
Language: French (Français)
La cigale, ayant chanté Tout l'été, Se trouva fort dépourvue Quand la bise fut venue. Pas un seul petit morceau De mouche ou de vermisseau. Elle alla crier famine Chez la Fourmi sa voisine, La priant de lui prêter Quelque grain pour subsister Jusqu'à la saison nouvelle. «Je vous paierai, lui dit-elle, Avant l'août, foi d'animal, Intérêt et principal.» La Fourmi n'est pas prêteuse; C'est là son moindre défaut. «Que faisiez-vous au temps chaud? Dit-elle à cette emprunteuse. -- Nuit et jour à tout venant Je chantais, ne vous déplaise. -- Vous chantiez? j'en suis fort aise. Et bien! dansez maintenant.»
About the headline (FAQ)
See also La cigale vengée.
Text Authorship:
- by Jean de La Fontaine (1621 - 1695), "La cigale et la fourmi", written 1668, appears in Fables [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 Isabelle Aboulker (b. 1938), "La cigale et la fourmi", published 1999 [ voice and piano ], from Femmes en Fables, no. 4, Éditions Notissimo [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Barachin , "La cigale et la fourmi " [ two-part chorus and orchestra (or string quartet, piano, and harmonium) ], Bruxelles, Éd. Breitkopf [sung text not yet checked]
- by Angèle Blot , "La Cigale et la fourmi", published 1885 [ voice and piano ], from Fables de Lafontaine, no. 2, Paris : F. Gauvin [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Bonneau (1918 - 1995), "La cigale et la fourmi", published 1952 [ medium voice and piano ], from Fables de La Fontaine I, no. 1, Éd. Lido Mélodies [sung text not yet checked]
- by Michel Bosc (b. 1963), "La cigale et la fourmi", op. 204 (2006) [ vocal duet for tenor and bass with piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Melchior Alexandre Bruneau (1823 - 1898), "La cigale et la fourmi", op. 377 no. 14 (1879) [ medium voice and piano or harmonium ], from 25 fables de La Fontaine, no. 14 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Régis Campo (b. 1968), "La Cigale et la Fourmi", 2005, published 2005 [ soprano and piano ], from Cinq fables de La Fontaine pour soprano et piano, no. 5, Éd. Henry Lemoine [sung text not yet checked]
- by André Caplet (1879 - 1925), "La cigale et la fourmi", 1919, published 1920 [ medium voice and piano ], from Trois Fables de Jean de la Fontaine, no. 2, Éd. Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jacqueline Chautemps (b. 1946), "La cigale et la fourmi", 1999 [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alfred Dassier (1836 - 1913), "La Cigale et la Fourmi" [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. Philippe Maquet & Cie (ancienne Maison G. Brandus & Dufour) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maurice Delage (1879 - 1961), "La cigale et la fourmi", op. 20 no. 2 (1931), published 1948 [ medium voice and piano or instrumental ensemble ], from Deux fables de Jean de la Fontaine, no. 2, Éd. Durand & Cie [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Marie-Madeleine Duruflé-Chevalier (1921 - 1999), "La Cigale et la fourmi", published 1962 [ women's chorus ], from Six Fables de La Fontaine pour chœur à deux ou trois voix de femmes sans accompagnement, no. 5, Éd. Durand [sung text not yet checked]
- by Benjamin Louis Paul Godard (1849 - 1895), "La cigale et la fourmi", op. 17 no. 2 (1872-1879) [ medium voice and piano ], from Six Fables de La Fontaine, no. 2, Paris, Éd. G. Hartmann [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Gounod (1818 - 1893), "La Cigale et la fourmi", CG 209 (1856), first performed 1856 [ TTBB quartet or TTBB chorus a cappella ], Éd. Lebeau, "Bibliothèque Chorale de la musique populaire" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963), "La cigale et la fourmi ", 1942, published 1999 [ voice and piano ], Schott [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Jongen (1873 - 1953), "La cigale et la fourmi", op. 118 (1941) [ children's chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nicolas Karjinsky (1894 - 1945), "La cigale et la fourmi", 1924, published 1926 [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. Maurice Senart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rudolf (Ruud) Leopold Koumans (b. 1929), "La cigale et la fourmi", op. 25 no. 1 (1964) [ chorus and orchestra ], from Vijf fabels van La Fontaine, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Lambillotte (1797 - 1855), "La Cigale" [ high voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Raoul Laparra (1876 - 1943), "La Cigale et la fourmi", 1925?, published 1926 [ medium voice and piano ], from Quatre Fables de La Fontaine, no. 1, Éd. Choudens [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Alexandre) Charles Lecocq (1832 - 1918), "La cigale et la fourmi", 1891 [ medium voice and piano ], from Six Fables de Jean de la Fontaine, no. 4, Éd. Librairie Musicale R. Legouix [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marcelle de Manziarly (1899 - 1989), "La cigale et la fourmi", 1935, from Trois Fables de La Fontaine, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Guy Miaille (b. 1930), "La Cigale et la Fourmi" [ medium voice and piano ], from 8 Fables de La Fontaine, no. 1, Édition Les Escholiers [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wulfran Moreau (1827 - 1905), "La Cigale et la fourmi", published 1860? [ soprano, chorus, piano or harmonium ], from Collection des chœurs amusants, no. 7, Paris, Éd. Haton [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pierre Moret (b. 1949), "La Cigale et la Fourmi", 1999 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Julien Naudy , "La Cigale et la fourmi", <<1910 [ high voice and piano ], from Mélodies, no. 9 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jacques Offenbach (1819 - 1880), "La cigale et la fourmi", 1842, published 1843 [ voice and piano ], from Six Fables de La Fontaine, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Amélie Perronnet (1831 - 1903), as Amélie Perronet, "La Cigale et la fourmi", published 1885 [ voice and piano ], Paris : F. Gauvin [sung text not yet checked]
- by Tiarko Richepin (1884 - 1973), "La Cigale et la fourmi", 1939, published 1939 [ baritone and piano ], from Fables de La Fontaine, no. 1, Éd. Choudens [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "La cigale et la fourmi", 1850? [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Eugénie Santa Coloma Sourget (1827 - 1895), "La Cigale et la fourmi", published [1881] [ high voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel et Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Guido Spinetti (1850 - 1931), "La Cigale et la fourmi", published 1900 [ voice and piano ], from 5 Fables de La Fontaine, no. 2, Paris: A. Quinzard [sung text not yet checked]
- by Claude Torrent (b. 1944), "La cigale et la fourmi" [ voice and piano ], from 5 Fables de La Fontaine, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Trenet (1913 - 2001), "La cigale et la fourmi", <<1941 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Yolande Uyttenhove (1925 - 2000), "La cigale et la fourmi", op. 5 (1985) [ children's chorus ], CeBeDeM [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jacques-Michel Zoubaloff (1876 - 1941), "La cigale et la fourmi", published 1925 [ voice and piano ], from 2 Fables de La Fontaine, no. 2, Paris: L. Grus & Cie., [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Christiaan Louis Schepp (1876 - 1948) , "De Krekel en de Mier" ; composed by Clara Wildschut.
- Also set in French (Français), adapted by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [an adaptation] ; composed by Gustave Delsarte.
- 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 R. Sprato ; composed by Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein.
- 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 Hungarian (Magyar), a translation by Dezső Kosztolányi (1885 - 1936) , "A tücsök meg a hangya", first published 1916 ; composed by Ferenc Farkas.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Ivan Andreyevich Krylov (1769 - 1844) , "Стрекоза и Муравей", appears in Басни (Basni) [an adaptation] ; composed by Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein, Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The grasshopper and the ant", copyright © 2016
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 22
Word count: 99
The cicada, having sung
Language: English after the French (Français)
The cicada, having sung All summer long, Found herself entirely destitute When the north wind came: Not a single tiny morsel Of fly or of worm. She went to cry famine At the ant's house next door, Imploring her to lend her Some speck to tide her over Until the next spring. "I'll pay you," she said, "Before August, animal's honor, Interest and principal." The ant was not one to lend, That was the least of her faults. "What did you do in the warm weather?" Said she to that borrower. "Night and day to all and sundry I sang, if you don't mind." "You sang? I'm so delighted. Well then! Now you can dance."
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"La Cigale" = "The Cicada"
"La cigale et la fourmi" = "The Cicada and the Ant"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 by Grant Hicks, (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 Jean de La Fontaine (1621 - 1695), "La cigale et la fourmi", written 1668, appears in Fables
This text was added to the website: 2025-09-07
Line count: 22
Word count: 115