If I were a tree or a plant

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Si j'étais un arbre ou une plante

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Si j'étais un arbre ou une plante,
je sentirais la douce influence du printemps.
Je suis un homme...
Ne vous étonnez pas de ma joie.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1920, page 61.

Text Authorship:

by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Le renouveau", appears in La flûte de jade [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 Eugeniusz Knapik (b. 1951), "La flûte de jade", 1973, published 1980 [ soprano and orchestra ], from La flûte de jade, no. 2, Kraków : Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne [placeholder] [sung text not yet checked]

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

This text was added to the website: 2025-01-01
Line count: 4
Word count: 25

If I were a tree or a plant

Language: English after the French (Français)

If I were a tree or a plant, 
I'd feel the sweet influence of Spring. 
I am a man... 
Do not be surprised at my joy.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"La flûte de jade" = "The Jade Flute"
"Le renouveau" = "Renewal"

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 renouveau", appears in La flûte de jade
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-04-30
Line count: 4
Word count: 26