Regret | The wings of the Night have closed over the Earth

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Le regret

Language: French (Français) after the Arabic (العربية)

Our translations: ENG

Les ailes de la Nuit se sont refermées sur la Terre. 
Les ailes de tes paupières se sont refermées sur tes yeux. 
Tu dors. Ce n'est pas encore la rosée, qui mouille ta gorge. 
Ce sont mes larmes, car je pense à un bonheur perdu ! 
Sous quelles caresses s'endort-elle, à cette heure ?

Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, L'édition d'Art H. Piazza, 63-ième édition, p.137

Text Authorship:

by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Le Regret", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 141, Paris, Éd. Piazza [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Arabic (العربية) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Jacqueline Despas (1893 - 1968), "Le regret", published 1923 [ medium voice and piano ], from Poèmes Arabes, no. 19, Paris, Éd. Jobert [sung text not yet checked]
by Irène Fuerison (1875 - 1931), "Le regret", op. 93 no. 9 (1926), published 2020 [ voice and piano ], from Le jardin des caresses, no. 9, Höflich, München [sung text not yet checked]
by Abel Nathan , "Le Regret", published 1930 [ voice and piano ], from Le Jardin des caresses, no. 1, Paris : L. Philippo [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "Regret", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2023-05-26
Line count: 5
Word count: 52

Regret

Language: English after the French (Français)

The wings of the Night have closed over the Earth. 
The wings of your eyelids have closed over your eyes. 
You are asleep. It is not yet the dew that moistens your throat. 
It is my tears, for I am thinking of a lost joy!
Under what caresses is she going to sleep, even now?

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 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 Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Le Regret", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 141, Paris, Éd. Piazza
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Arabic (العربية) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-02-25
Line count: 5
Word count: 55