Dans l'attente | Non, rien n’est comme la première fois

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Knut Hamsun (1859 - 1952)

Translation © by Pierre Mathé

I ventetiden

Language: Norwegian (Bokmål)

Our translations: FRE

Choose for Diff

Nei intet er som første gang
at vente og at rødme.
Vel venter jeg ham nu igjen
og håper på hans komme; men —
For intet er som første gang
med al dens gode sødme.

Den første gang var bak en hæk
i høiet på en slæde.
Men siden blev det mangt et sted
med lukket dør og mørke med.
Men intet er som bak en hæk
i hjærtets første glæde.

Vel venter jeg ham nu ikvæld
og gjør mig muntert rede.
Jeg husker hvert et kys fra før
og kjender hvert et grep han gjør.
Vel venter jeg ham nu ikvæld,
men med en bitter lede.

Han drøier. Kanske skal hans blik
nu for en anden gløde?
Ja gå, min ven, til hvem du vil,
jeg går til ro og takker til....
Nei hør, min ven, du drøier så,
du piner mig tildøde!

Confirmed with Knut Hamsun, Samlede Verker, Bind 15, Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, Oslo, 1964.

Text Authorship:

by Knut Hamsun (1859 - 1952), "I ventetiden", appears in Det vilde kor [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 Magne Amdahl (b. 1942), "I ventetiden", 1994 [ bass-baritone, narrator, violoncello, and piano ], from En Hamsun konsert, no. 11 [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2025-10-08
Line count: 24
Word count: 144

Dans l'attente

Language: French (Français) after the Norwegian (Bokmål)

Choose for Diff

Non, rien n’est comme la première fois
où l'on attend et où l'on rougit.
À la vérité je l'attends encore aujourd'hui
et j'espère le voir venir,
mais rien ne vaut la première fois,
avec toute sa tendre douceur.

La première fois, c'était derrière une haie,
dans le foin, sur un traîneau.
Mais depuis, il y eut bien des endroits,
avec porte close et obscurité.
Mais rien ne vaut, derrière une haie,
la première joie du cœur.

Certes, je l'attends ce soir
et me prépare joyeusement.
Je me rappelle chacun de ses baisers
et connais chacun de ses gestes.
Certes, je l'attends ce soir,
mais avec un amer dégoût.

Il tarde. Peut-être son regard
va-t-il maintenant s'embraser pour une autre ?
Oui, va, mon ami, vers qui tu veux,
je vais me coucher et t'en remercie…
Non, écoute, mon ami, tu tardes tant,
tu me fais mourir de douleur !

Text Authorship:

Translation from Norwegian (Bokmål) to French (Français) copyright © 2026 by Pierre Mathé, (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 Norwegian (Bokmål) by Knut Hamsun (1859 - 1952), "I ventetiden", appears in Det vilde kor
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-08-20
Line count: 24
Word count: 147