Le baiser, chère enfant, que ta lèvre a laissé

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by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824)

Translation © by Isabelle Cecchini

The kiss, dear maid, thy lip has left

Language: English

Available translation(s): FRE

The kiss, dear maid, thy lip has left,
Shall never part from mine,
Till happier hours restore the gift
Untainted back to thine.

Thy parting glance, which fondly beams,
An equal love, may see;
[That]¹ tear that from thine eyelid streams
Can weep no change in me.

I ask no pledge to make me blest
In gazing when alone;
Nor one memorial for a breast
Whose thoughts are all thine own.

Nor need I write - to tell the tale
My pen were doubly weak:
Oh! What can idle words avail,
Unless the heart could speak?

By day or night, in weal or woe,
[That]² heart, no longer free,
Must bear the love it cannot show,
And silent ache for thee.

L. Beethoven sets stanzas 1-3, 5

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, a Romaunt: and other Poems, seventh Edition, London: John Murray, 1814, pages 216 - 217. Appears in Poems.

¹ Beethoven: "The"
² Beethoven: "This"

Authorship:

by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "On parting", written 1811, appears in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, a Romaunt: and other Poems, in Poems, first published 1812 [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 William Aspull , "The kiss dear maid", published 1820? [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Salvatore Auteri-Manzocchi (1845 - 1924), "The kiss, dear maid", published 1883 [ tenor and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John G. Barnett (1802 - 1890), "The kiss, dear maid", published 1877 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John Beale , "The kiss, dear maid", published 1817 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Herbert Bedford (1867 - 1945), "On parting", published <<1929 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "The kiss, dear maid, thy lip has left", WoO. 153 (20 Irische Lieder mit Begleitung von Pianoforte, Violine und Violoncello) no. 9, G. 224 no. 9, published 1814/6, stanzas 1-3,5 [ voice, piano, violin, violoncello ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Henry Rowley Bishop (1785 - 1855), "Canzonett", 182-? [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by J. Chadwick , "The kiss, dear maid", published 1841 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Ernest Ford , "On parting", published 1897 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Rosa Guerini née Wilberforce , "The kiss", published 1878 [ tenor and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Emil Kreuz (1867 - 1932), "On parting", published 1891 [ tenor or soprano and piano ], from 4 songs [sung text not yet checked]
by (Wilhelm) Bernhard Molique (1802 - 1869), "On parting", published 1866 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Frederick R. Moseley , "The kiss, dear maid", published 1904 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Alfred Frederick Mullen , "The kiss, dear maid", published 1854 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Isaac Nathan (1790 - 1864), "The kiss, dear maid", published 1815 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John Parry (1776 - 1851), "The parting pledge", published 1818-21 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Mary Southcote , "The kiss, dear maid", published 1815? [ high voice and piano ], from Six Songs & Duetts [sic] [sung text not yet checked]
by Madame Colonel [sic] Target , "The kiss, dear maid", published 1821 [ voice and harp or piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John Bianchi Taylor , "The kiss, dear maid", published 1818, copyright © 1818 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Wilbraham John Tollemache , "On parting", published 1889 [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by R. Manners Williams , "The kiss, dear maid, thy lip has left", published 1877 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Thomas Williams , "The kiss, dear maid", published 1817? [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Venceslao Hugo Zavertal , "On parting", published 1883 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Nicolaas Beets (1814 - 1903) , "Afscheid" ; composed by Lodewijk Mortelmans.
Also set in French (Français), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by A. M. C. Patti.
Also set in Italian (Italiano), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by A. M. C. Patti.

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

FRE French (Français) (Alexis Paulin Pâris) , "Le départ"
GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Georg Pertz) , "Der Scheidekuß von deinem Mund"

Researcher for this text: Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2005-01-12
Line count: 20
Word count: 121

Le baiser, chère enfant, que ta lèvre a laissé

Language: French (Français) after the English

 Le baiser, chère enfant, que ta lèvre a laissé
 De ma bouche jamais ne sera séparé.
 Je rendrai inchangé le présent merveilleux
 Quand nous nous reverrons en des jours plus heureux.

 Ton regard langoureux, plonge-le dans le mien,
 Sache que mon amour est comparable au tien.
 Les larmes douloureuses qui coulent de tes yeux
 Ne pourront affaiblir mes élans amoureux.

 Aucun gage d'amour je n'exige de toi
 Pour me réconforter et soutenir ma foi.
 Je ne pense qu'à toi et je n'ai nul besoin
 D'une tendre promesse pour affermir nos liens.






 De nuit comme de jour, dans les ris et les pleurs,
 Prisonnier de l'amour,

 je cache ma douleur.

Authorship:

Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2003 by Isabelle Cecchini, (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.
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Based on:

a text in English by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "On parting", written 1811, appears in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, a Romaunt: and other Poems, in Poems, first published 1812

This text was added to the website: 2005-01-18
Line count: 15
Word count: 110