Sometimes I'm sad | Sometimes I'm sad, and then suddenly I think of her

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by Francis Jammes (1868 - 1938)

Translation © by Faith J. Cormier

Parfois, je suis triste. Et soudain, je...

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Parfois, je suis triste. Et soudain, je pense à elle.
Alors, je suis joyeux. Mais je redeviens triste
de ce que je ne sais pas combien elle m'aime.
Elle est la jeune fille à l'âme toute claire,
et qui, dedans son cœur, garde avec jalousie
l'unique passion que l'on donne à un seul.
Elle est partie avant que s'ouvrent les tilleuls,
et, comme ils ont fleuri depuis qu'elle est partie,
Je me suis étonné de voir, ô mes amis,
des branches de tilleuls qui n'avaient pas de fleurs.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Francis Jammes (1868 - 1938), no title, appears in Clairières dans le ciel, in Tristesses, no. 5, first published 1906 [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 Michel Bosc (b. 1963), "Parfois, je suis triste", 1999 [ high voice, flute, and piano ], from Tristesses, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
by Lili Boulanger (1893 - 1918), "Parfois, je suis triste", 1914, published 1919 [ high voice and piano or orchestra ], from Clairières dans le ciel, no. 3, Ricordi [sung text checked 1 time]
by Darius Milhaud (1892 - 1974), "Parfois, je suis triste", op. 355 no. 6 (1956), published 1957 [ baritone and piano ], from Tristesses, no. 6, Paris, Éd. Heugel [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "Sometimes I'm sad", copyright © 2003, (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: 10
Word count: 88

Sometimes I'm sad

Language: English after the French (Français)

Sometimes I'm sad, and then suddenly I think of her 
and I'm happy. Then I'm sad again 
because I don't know how much she loves me. 
She is a bright-souled girl, 
and in her heart she jealously protects 
the one passion she will bestow on only one. 
She left before the lindens opened. 
They have flowered since then 
and I was amazed, my friends, 
to see linden branches with no flowers on them.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2003 by Faith J. Cormier, (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 Francis Jammes (1868 - 1938), no title, appears in Clairières dans le ciel, in Tristesses, no. 5, first published 1906
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2004-01-27
Line count: 10
Word count: 73