Winter is battering the window and the roof

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by Paul-Jean Toulet (1867 - 1920)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

L'hiver bat la vitre et le toit

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

L'hiver bat la vitre et le toit.
        Il fait bon dans la chambre,
A part cette sale odeur d'ambre
        Et de plaisir. Mais toi,

Les roses naissent sur ta face
        Quand tu ris près du feu...
Ce soir tu me diras adieu,
        Ombre, que l'ombre efface.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Paul-Jean Toulet, Les contrerimes, Paris: Emile-Paul Frères, 1923, page 22.

Note: Garno (also garni) is a slang term for furnished lodgings.

Text Authorship:

by Paul-Jean Toulet (1867 - 1920), "Le Garno", appears in Les Contrerimes, in Contrerimes, no. 12, Paris, Éd. Le Divan, first published 1921 [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 Beydts (1896 - 1953), "L'hiver bat la vitre et le toit", 1945, published 1946 [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ], from d’Ombre et de soleil, no. 5, Éd. Durand [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]

This text was added to the website: 2014-06-13
Line count: 8
Word count: 46

Winter is battering the window and the...

Language: English after the French (Français)

Winter is battering the window and the roof.
        In the room it is pleasant,
Aside from this foul odor of ambergris 
        And of pleasure. But you,

Roses blossom on your face 
        When you laugh by the fire...
Tonight you will say goodbye to me,
        Shadow effaced by shadow.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Le Garno" = "The Flophouse"
"L'hiver bat la vitre et le toit" = "Winter is battering the window and the roof"

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 Paul-Jean Toulet (1867 - 1920), "Le Garno", appears in Les Contrerimes, in Contrerimes, no. 12, Paris, Éd. Le Divan, first published 1921
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-01-29
Line count: 8
Word count: 48