The Snake | She was sitting on my lap

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by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Le Serpent

Language: French (Français) after the Arabic (العربية)

Our translations: ENG

Elle était assise sur mes genoux, 
j'avais glissé ma main sous sa robe. 
D'une voix indifférente, je parlais des troupeaux,
des chiens agiles, des pâturages.
Ses jambes étaient lisses et fermes.
Enfin, elle parut s'apercevoir que je la caressais.
« Il y a un serpent sous ma robe ! dit-elle en riant.
— Justement, lui ai-je répondu, je le cherche...

Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le Jardin des Caresses, 73e édition, Paris : L'édition d'art H. Piazza, 1921, p.48

Text Authorship:

by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Le Serpent", written 1911?, appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 46, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Arabic (العربية) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Piero Coppola (1888 - 1971), "Le Serpent", published 1924 [ high voice and piano ], from Dix Poèmes Arabes extraits du Jardin des caresses de Franz Toussaint, no. 8, Paris, Éd. Ricordi [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "The Snake", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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

This text was added to the website: 2025-02-17
Line count: 8
Word count: 59

The Snake

Language: English after the French (Français)

She was sitting on my lap, 
I had slipped my hand beneath her robe.
In a detached voice, I spoke of flocks, 
of nimble dogs, of pasturelands.
Her legs were smooth and firm. 
Finally, she seemed to notice that I was caressing her. 
"There is a snake under my robe!" she said, laughing. 
"Just so," I answered. "I am trying to find it..."

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 Serpent", written 1911?, appears in Le jardin des caresses, no. 46, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in Arabic (العربية) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [text unavailable]
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-04-17
Line count: 8
Word count: 63