Comme les anges à l'œil fauve, Je reviendrai dans ton alcôve Et vers toi glisserai sans bruit Avec les ombres de la nuit ; Et je te donnerai, ma brune, Des baisers froids comme la lune Et des caresses de serpent Autour d'une fosse rampant. Quand viendra le matin livide, Tu trouveras ma place vide, Où jusqu'au soir il fera froid. Comme d'autres par la tendresse, Sur ta vie et sur ta jeunesse, Moi, je veux régner par l'effroi.
Confirmed with Charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du mal, Paris: Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, 1857, in Spleen et Idéal, pages 166-167. Note: this was number 72 in the 1857 edition of Les Fleurs du mal but 63 or 65 in subsequent editions.
Authorship:
- by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), "Le revenant", appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 1. Spleen et Idéal, no. 65, Paris, Poulet-Malassis et de Broise [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 Rodolphe Théophile Cahen d'Anvers, marquis de Torre Alfina , as Armand Bolsène, "Le Revenant" [ mezzo-soprano or tenor and piano ], from Frissons d'au delà, no. 4, Éd. E. Fromont [sung text not yet checked]
- by Albert Bertelin (1872 - 1951), "Le revenant" [ high voice and piano ], from Mélodies, no. 7, Éd. Loret Fils et H. Freytag [sung text not yet checked]
- by Stéphane Blet (b. 1969), "Le revenant", op. 100 no. 3 (2004?), published 2004 [ medium voice and piano ], from 4 Mélodies d’après “Les Fleurs du mal” de Baudelaire opus 100, no. 3, Éd. Combre [sung text not yet checked]
- by Léo Ferré (1916 - 1993), "Le revenant", published 1970 [ voice and piano ], Éd. S.E.M.I. Méridian [sung text not yet checked]
- by Swan Hennessy (1866 - 1929), "Le Revenant", op. 23 (Quatre Mélodies) no. 4 [ voice and piano ], Éd. J. Hamelle [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963), "Le revenant", 1944, published 1999 [ voice and piano ], Schott [sung text not yet checked]
- by Aimée Strohl (1865 - 1941), "Le Revenant", published 1901 [ voice and piano ], from Dix poésies mises en musique, no. 5, Paris: F. Toledo & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Haasz) , "Příšera", Prague, J. Otto, first published 1919
- ENG English (Cyril Meir Scott) , "The Ghost", appears in The Flowers of Evil, London, Elkin Mathews, first published 1909
- GER German (Deutsch) (Stefan George) , "Das Gespenst", appears in Die Blumen des Bösen, in Trübsinn und Vergeisterung, Berlin: Bondi, first published 1901
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2013-10-01
Line count: 14
Word count: 79
Just like an angel with evil eye, I shall return to thee silently, Upon thy bower I'll alight, With falling shadows of the night. With thee, my brownie, I'll commune, And give thee kisses cold as the moon, And with a serpent's moist embrace, I'll crawl around thy resting-place. And when the livid morning falls, Thou'lt find alone the empty walls, And till the evening, cold 'twill be. As others with their tenderness, Upon thy life and youthfulness, I'll reign alone with dread o'er thee.
Confirmed with Cyril Scott, The Flowers of Evil [by Charles Baudelaire; translated into English verse by Cyril Scott], London: Elkin Mathews, 1909, page 43.
Authorship:
- by Cyril Meir Scott (1879 - 1970), "The Ghost", appears in The Flowers of Evil, London, Elkin Mathews, first published 1909 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), "Le revenant", appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 1. Spleen et Idéal, no. 65, Paris, Poulet-Malassis et de Broise
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-08-20
Line count: 14
Word count: 85