by
Émile Nelligan (1879 - 1941)
Soir d'hiver
Language: French (Français)
Ah ! comme la neige a neigé !
Ma vitre est un jardin de givre.
Ah ! comme la neige a neigé !
Qu'est-ce que le spasme de vivre
A la douleur que j'ai, que j'ai !
Tous les étangs gisent gelés,
Mon âme est noire: où vis-je ? Où vais-je ?
Tous ses espoirs gisent gelés:
Je suis la nouvelle Norwège
D'où les blonds ciels s'en sont allés.
Pleurez, oiseaux de février,
Au sinistre frisson des choses,
Pleurez, oiseaux de février,
Pleurez mes pleurs, pleurez mes roses,
Aux branches du genévrier.
Ah ! comme la neige a neigé !
Ma vitre est un jardin de givre.
Ah ! comme la neige a neigé !
Qu'est-ce que le spasme de vivre
A tout l'ennui que j'ai, que j'ai !...
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Maurice Blackburn (1914 - 1988), "Soir d'hiver", published 2013 [ medium voice and piano ], from Mélodies du Québec, no. 9, Éd. du Nouveau Théâtre Musical [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean Chatillon (1937 - 2019), "Soir d'hiver", 1973 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean Coulthard (1908 - 2000), "Soir d'hiver", 1957, from Two French Songs, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jacques Hétu, OC (1938 - 2010), "Soir d'hiver", op. 20 no. 5 (1972), published 1986, first performed 1973 [ medium voice and piano ], from Les Clartés de la nuit, no. 5, Québec, Éd. Yppan [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "Winter Evening", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2009-12-11
Line count: 20
Word count: 117
Winter Evening
Language: English after the French (Français)
Ah! how the snow has snowed!
My windowpane is a garden of frost.
Ah! how the snow has snowed!
What is the spasm of living
To the suffering that is mine, that is mine!
All the ponds lie frozen,
My soul is black: where do I live? Where am I going?
All its hopes lie frozen:
I am the new Norway
From which the blond skies have departed.
Weep, birds of February,
At the sinister chill of things,
Weep, birds of February,
Weep my tears, weep my roses,
At the branches of the juniper.
Ah! how the snow has snowed!
My windowpane is a garden of frost.
Ah! how the snow has snowed!
What is the spasm of living
To all the weariness that is mine, that is mine!...
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:
This text was added to the website: 2025-07-16
Line count: 20
Word count: 129
