Laughing at the sky and at the planets

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by Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (1895 - 1952), as Paul Éluard

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Riant du ciel et des planètes

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Riant du ciel et des planètes
La bouche imbibée de confiance
Les sages
Veulent des fils
Et des fils de leurs fils
Jusqu’à périr d’usure

Le temps ne pèse que les fous
L’abîme est seul à verdoyer
Et les sages sont ridicules.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Paul Éluard, Œuvres complètes, Vol. 1, Paris: Gallimard, 1968, Page 1061.

Text Authorship:

by Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (1895 - 1952), as Paul Éluard, "Première marche la voix d'un autre" [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 Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963), "Riant du ciel et des planètes", FP 120 no. 5 (1943), first performed 1946 [ chorus ], from cantata Figure humaine, no. 5, Éditions Salabert [sung text checked 1 time]

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

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

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2021-01-22
Line count: 9
Word count: 42

Laughing at the sky and at the planets

Language: English after the French (Français)

Laughing at the sky and at the planets 
Their mouths damp with confidence 
Wise men
Wish for sons
And for sons for their sons
Until they perish of attrition 

Time weighs only madmen
The abyss alone grows green
And wise men are absurd.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Première marche la voix d'un autre" = "First Step the Voice of Another"
"Riant du ciel et des planètes" = "Laughing at the sky and at the planets"

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 Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (1895 - 1952), as Paul Éluard, "Première marche la voix d'un autre"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-04-18
Line count: 9
Word count: 43