by
Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
L'absente
Language: French (Français) after the Arabic (العربية)
Afin d'oublier ma folie, je m'en suis allé dans la montagne.
Mais, le silence des plateaux me rappelait d'autres silences.
Afin d'oublier ma folie, je m'en suis allé sur la mer.
Mais, son immensité me rappelait mon amour.
Afin de mourir de ma folie,
je suis revenu dans la demeure qu'elle habita.
Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, Paris : H. Piazza, 1919, p.136
Text Authorship:
Based on:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Jean Artiguères , "L'Absente", published 1927 [ voice and piano ], from Daoulah, no. 2, Paris : H. Maquaire [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jacqueline Despas (1893 - 1968), "L'absente", published 1923 [ medium voice and piano ], from Poèmes Arabes, no. 18, Paris, Éd. Jobert [sung text not yet checked]
- by Walter Morse Rummel (1887 - 1953), "L'Absente", 1912, published 1913 [ medium voice and piano ], from Chansons arabes, no. 2, London, Augener [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vincenzo Tommasini (1878 - 1950), "L'absente", 1919 [ voice and piano ], from Cinq mélodies, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "She Is Gone", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Grant Hicks
[Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2024-11-13
Line count: 6
Word count: 52
She Is Gone
Language: English after the French (Français)
To forget my madness, I betook myself to the mountains.
But the silence of the plateau reminded me of other silences.
To forget my madness, I betook myself to the sea.
But its vastness reminded me of my love.
To die of my madness ,
I went back to the place where she lived.
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:
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2026-02-23
Line count: 6
Word count: 54
