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by Marceline Desbordes-Valmore (1786 - 1859)
Translation © by Ahmed E. Ismail
Si l'enfant sommeille
Language: French (Français)
Si l'enfant sommeille, Il verra l'abeille, Quand elle aura fait son miel, Danser entre terre et ciel. Sie l'enfant repose, Un ange tout rose, Que la nuit seule on peut voir, Viendra lui dire: »bonsoir!« Si mon enfant m'aime, Dieu dira lui même: J'aime cet enfant qui dort: Qu'on lui porte un rêve d'or. Mettez lui des aîles, Comme aux tourterelles Pour venir dans mon soleil Danser, danser jusqu'à son réveil. Fermez ses paupières, Et sur ses prières, De mes jardins pleins de fleurs Faites glisser les couleurs. Mais je veux qu'il dorme, Et qu'il se conforme Au silence des oiseaux Couchés parmi les roseaux! Car si l'enfant pleure, On entendra l'heure Tinter partout qu'un enfant A fait ce que Dieu défend. L'écho de la rue, Au bruit accourue, Quand l'heure aura soupiré, Dira: »d'enfant a pleuré!« Et sa tendre mère, Dans sa nuit amère, Pour son ingrat nourisson Ne saura plus hélas! de chanson. Si l'enfant est sage, Sur son doux visage La Vierge se penchera, Et longtemps lui parlera.
About the headline (FAQ)
First published in Le musée des familles, August 1835.
Text Authorship:
- by Marceline Desbordes-Valmore (1786 - 1859), "Dormeuse", written 1835, appears in Pauvres Fleurs, first published 1835 [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 Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875), "Berceuse sur un vieil air", op. 21 no. 11 (1868), published 1873 [ voice and piano ], from Vingt mélodies pour chant et piano, no. 11, Paris, Éd. Choudens [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Marguerite Canal (1890 - 1978), "Dormeuse", published [1948] [ medium voice and piano ], from Quatre berceuses, no. 3, Édition Max Eschig [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernest Doré (1830 - 1884), "Dormeuse", op. 2, published [1854] [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel; note: this song might begin with stanza 2 since its incipit is "Si l'enfant repose" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Irène Fuerison (1875 - 1931), "Dormeuse", op. 10 (1915) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edmond Michotte (1831 - 1914), "Dormeuse", published [1864] [ high voice and piano ], from Vingt-cinq morceaux de chant à une et à plusieurs voix avec accompagnement de piano, no. 10, Paris, Éd. Flaxland [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Ahmed E. Ismail) , "Cradle song after an old air", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English [singable] (Michael P Rosewall) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 171
Cradle song after an old air
Language: English after the French (Français)
If the child naps, He will see the bee, Having made her honey, Dance between heaven and earth. If the child lies down, An angel, all in red, Whom one can see only at night, Will come to tell him: "Good evening!" If my child loves me, God will say so himself: I love this sleeping child: Let him be given a golden dream. Give him wings, Like the turtledoves' That he may come with my sun To dance, to dance until he wakes. Close his eyelids And over his prayers From my gardens full of flowers Let glide the colors. But I want him to sleep And to respect The silence of the birds Sleeping among the roses! For if the child cries, One will hear the clocks Chime everywhere that a child Has done what God has forbidden. The echo in the street, Rushing at the noise, After the clock has sighed, Will say: "A child has cried!" And his tender mother, Will lie awake and bitter in the night For her ungrateful child Will alas know the song no more. If the child is well-behaved Toward his sweet face The Virgin will bend down hers And speak to him for a long time.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2007 by Ahmed E. Ismail, (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 Marceline Desbordes-Valmore (1786 - 1859), "Dormeuse", written 1835, appears in Pauvres Fleurs, first published 1835
This text was added to the website: 2007-09-19
Line count: 40
Word count: 206