Le dernier rire | Oh ! Jésus-Christ ! Je suis touché !dit-il, et il mourut

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by Wilfred Owen (1893 - 1918)

Translation © by Pierre Mathé

The last laugh

Language: English

Our translations: FRE

'Oh! Jesus Christ! I'm hit,' he said; and died.
Whether he vainly cursed or prayed indeed,
The Bullets chirped - In vain, vain, vain!
Machine-guns chuckled, - Tut-tut! Tut-tut!
And the Big Gun guffawed.

Another sighed,-'O Mother, -Mother, - Dad!'
Then smiled at nothing, childlike, being dead.
And the lofty Shrapnel-cloud
Leisurely gestured,-Fool!
And the splinters spat, and tittered.

'My Love!' one moaned. Love-languid seemed his mood,
Till slowly lowered, his whole faced kissed the mud.
And the Bayonets' long teeth grinned;
Rabbles of Shells hooted and groaned;
And the Gas hissed.

Text Authorship:

by Wilfred Owen (1893 - 1918) [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 Jason Rico (b. 1978), "The last laugh" [ voice, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le dernier rire", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Jason Rico

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 89

Le dernier rire

Language: French (Français) after the English

« Oh ! Jésus-Christ ! Je suis touché ! » dit-il, et il mourut.
Qu'il ait vainement maudit ou prié,
Les balles sifflèrent : « En vain, en vain, en vain ! »
Les mitrailleuses ricanèrent : « Tut-tut ! Tut-tut ! »
Et le gros canon éclata de rire.

Un autre soupira : « Ô Mère, Mère, Papa ! »
Puis il sourit au vide, comme un enfant, étant mort.
Et le nuage d'éclats d'obus, haut perché,
fit un geste nonchalant : Imbécile !
Et les éclats crachèrent et ricanèrent.

« Mon amour ! » gémit l'un d'eux. Son humeur semblait empreinte de langueur amoureuse,
Jusqu'à ce que, lentement, son visage tout entier embrasse la boue,
Et les longues dents des baïonnettes ricanèrent ;
Des nuées d'obus sifflèrent et gémirent ;
Et le gaz siffla.

Text Authorship:

Translation from English 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.
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Based on:

a text in English by Wilfred Owen (1893 - 1918)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-04-15
Line count: 15
Word count: 121