The Downcast Face | Stay like that, bent over your heart

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Le visage penché

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

[Demeure]¹ ainsi, penchée sur ton cœur.
Tes paupières sont deux pétales de [clématite bleue,]²
et [ta bouche est une]³ longue framboise.

[Demeure]¹ ainsi. Une mèche de tes cheveux
a glissé sur ton front, comme une hirondelle apprivoisée
se poserait sur un coffret d’ivoire,
et je ne sais si ce poudroiement vermeil est ta joue.

La clématite s’est repliée :
pourquoi m’as-tu regardé ?
L’hirondelle s’est envolée :
pourquoi as-tu refoulé ta mèche ?
La framboise s’est déchirée :
pourquoi m’as-tu souris ?

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• L. Aubert

View text without footnotes

Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le jardin des caresses, Paris: L'édition d'art H. Piazza, 1921, p. 108

¹ Aubert: "Reste"
² Aubert: "clématite/ Que l’été aurait pâlies,"
³ Aubert: "je ne vois de tes lèvres qu’une"

Text Authorship:

by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Le visage penché", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 111, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1911 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Louis Aubert (1877 - 1968), "Le visage penché", 1917, published 1917 [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ], from Six poèmes arabes, no. 3, Paris, Édition Durand [sung text checked 1 time]

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2022-05-02
Line count: 13
Word count: 80

The Downcast Face

Language: English after the French (Français)

Stay like that, bent over your heart.
Your pupils are two petals of [blue clematis,]¹
and [your mouth is]² a long raspberry.

Stay like that. A lock of your hair
Has slipped across your forehead, as a tame swallow 
might alight on an ivory box,
and I don't know if this rosy dusting is your cheek.

The clematis has closed up:
why did you look at me?
The swallow has taken wing:
why did you brush back your hair?
The raspberry has burst open:
why did you smile at me?

View text without footnotes
¹ Aubert: "clematis/ That summer has faded,"
² Aubert: "all I see of your lips is"

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 Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Le visage penché", appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 111, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1911
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-03-25
Line count: 13
Word count: 92