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Vous me répétiez : “Nous vieillirons ensemble. En même temps que les miens, tes cheveux deviendront blancs comme la neige des montagnes, comme la lune d’été.” Aujourd’hui, Seigneur, j’ai appris que vous aimiez une autre femme, et je viens, désespérée, vous dire adieu. Une dernière fois, versons le même vin dans nos deux tasses. Une dernière fois, chantez la chanson qui parle d’un oiseau mort sous la neige. Puis j’irai m’embarquer sur le fleuve Yu-keon dont les eaux se divisent pour couler vers l’est et vers l’ouest. Pourquoi pleurez-vous, jeunes filles qui vous mariez ? Vous épousez peut-être un homme au coeur fidèle, un homme qui vous répètera sincèrement : “Nous vieillirons ensemble.”
R. Wertheim sets stanza 1 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
R. Wertheim sets stanza 2 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
R. Wertheim sets stanza 3 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
About the headline (FAQ)
inspired by Li-Tai-Po
Text Authorship:
- by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "La chanson des têtes blanches", appears in La flûte de jade [author's text not yet checked 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 Rosalie Marie Wertheim (1888 - 1949), "Vous me répétiez", 1926, copyright © 2024, stanza 1 [ mezzo-soprano, flute and piano ], from La chanson déchirante, no. 1, Rijswijk : Stichting Donemus Beheer
Publisher: Donemus [external link] [sung text checked 1 time] - by Rosalie Marie Wertheim (1888 - 1949), "Une dernière fois", 1926, copyright © 2024, stanza 2 [ mezzo-soprano, flute and piano ], from La chanson déchirante, no. 2, Rijswijk ; Stichting Donemus Beheer
Publisher: Donemus [external link] [sung text checked 1 time] - by Rosalie Marie Wertheim (1888 - 1949), "Pourquoi pleurez-vous, jeunes filles qui vous mariez?", 1923, copyright © 2024, stanza 3 [ mezzo-soprano, flute and piano ], from La chanson déchirante, no. 3, Rijswijk : Stichting Donemus Beheer
Publisher: Donemus [external link] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
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: 2026-04-04
Line count: 20
Word count: 110
You used to tell me, "We will grow old together. Along with my own, your hair will turn white as the mountain snow, as the summer moon..." Today, my lord, I learned that you loved another woman, and I am coming, hopeless, to say goodbye. One last time, let us pour the same wine into both our cups. One last time, sing the song that tells of a bird dead beneath the snow. Then I will go to sail on the Yu-keou river whose waters diverge to flow to the east and to the west. Why do you weep, you girls who are getting married? You may be marrying a man with a faithful heart, a man who will tell you sincerely, "We will grow old together..."
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"La chanson des têtes blanches" = "The Song of the White Heads"
"Pourquoi pleurez-vous, jeunes filles qui vous mariez?" = "Why do you weep, you girls who are getting married?"
"Une dernière fois" = "One last time"
"Vous me répétiez" = "You used to tell me"
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), "La chanson des têtes blanches", appears in La flûte de jade
This text was added to the website: 2026-04-21
Line count: 20
Word count: 127