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C'est le moment crépusculaire. J'admire, assis sous un portail, Ce reste de jour dont s'éclaire La dernière heure du travail. Dans les terres, de nuit baignées, Je contemple, ému, les haillons D'un vieillard qui jette à poignées La moisson future aux sillons. Sa haute silhouette noire Domine les profonds labours. On sent à quel point il doit croire A la fuite utile des jours. Il marche dans la plaine immense, Va, vient, lance la graine au loin, Rouvre sa main, et recommence, Et je médite, obscur témoin, Pendant que, déployant ses voiles, L'ombre, où se mêle une rumeur, Semble élargir jusqu'aux étoiles Le geste auguste du semeur.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), "Saison des semailles. Le soir", written 1865, appears in Les Chansons des rues et des bois, in 2. Livre deuxième : Sagesse, in 1. Ama, crede, no. 3 [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 Paul-Charles-Marie Curet (1848 - 1917), as Paul Puget, "Les semailles", published 1897 [ medium voice and piano ], in the musical supplement to the magazine L'Illustration, n°2859, December 11 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jesus Guridi Bidaola (1886 - 1961), "La saison des semailles", 1907 [ voice and piano or orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Georges Mathias (1826 - 1910), "Les semailles", published 1889 [ high voice and piano ], from Six mélodies, no. 3, Paris, Éd. Durand & Schoenewerck [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alexis Jean Hubert Rostand (1844 - 1919), "Saison des semailles - Le soir" [ baritone and piano ], from Vingt mélodies, no. 17, Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel et Fils [sung text not yet checked]
- by Brian Wright , "Saison des semailles - Le soir" [ medium voice and lute ], from Mélodies pour Colette (1873-1954), no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2017-01-13
Line count: 20
Word count: 107
It is the time of twilight. Sitting beneath a gateway, I admire The remnants of the day that light The last hour of toil. In the fields, bathed in night, I am moved when I contemplate the rags Of an old man who casts by handfuls The future harvest into the furrows. His tall black silhouette Towers over the deep tillage. One can feel the faith he must have In the useful passing of the days. He strides across the vast plain, Comes, goes, scatters seed afar, Reopens his hand, and begins anew, And I muse, a shadowy witness, While, as it unfolds its veils, The darkness, mixed with distant rumbling, Seems to spread as far as the stars The noble gesture of the sower.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"La saison des semailles" = "The Season of Sowing"
"Les semailles" = "Sowing"
"Saison des semailles - Le soir" = "The Season of Sowing - Evening"
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 Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), "Saison des semailles. Le soir", written 1865, appears in Les Chansons des rues et des bois, in 2. Livre deuxième : Sagesse, in 1. Ama, crede, no. 3
This text was added to the website: 2026-06-17
Line count: 20
Word count: 125