Was it a nice day when she died, your friend?

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by Francis Jammes (1868 - 1938)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Faisait‑il beau quand elle est morte,...

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Faisait-il beau quand elle est morte, votre amie ?
Oh !... Je voudrais savoir si c'était le matin...
Avant de s'en aller vous a-t-elle souri ?

Donnez-lui l'edelweiss que vous ne voulez point...

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Francis Jammes (1868 - 1938), no title, appears in Clairières dans le ciel, in Tristesses, no. 14, first published 1906 [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 Michel Bosc (b. 1963), "Faisait-il beau", 1999 [ high voice, flute, and piano ], from Tristesses, no. 14 [sung text not yet checked]
by Darius Milhaud (1892 - 1974), "Faisait-il beau quand elle est morte, votre amie ?", op. 355 no. 14 (1956), published 1957 [ baritone and piano ], from Tristesses, no. 14, Paris, Éd. Heugel [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2014-07-12
Line count: 4
Word count: 30

Was it a nice day when she died, your...

Language: English after the French (Français)

Was it a nice day when she died, your friend?
Oh!... I'd like to know if it was morning...
Before she went, did she smile at you?

Give her the edelweiss you do not at all want...

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Faisait-il beau" = "Was it a nice day"
"Faisait-il beau quand elle est morte, votre amie ?" = "Was it a nice day when she died, your friend?"

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 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 Francis Jammes (1868 - 1938), no title, appears in Clairières dans le ciel, in Tristesses, no. 14, first published 1906
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-06-14
Line count: 4
Word count: 37