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N'ouvrez pas encor les yeux, Ma belle dormeuse; Le soleil est radieux, Et vous radieuse. Écoutez, tout en dormant, Ce que je vous charité Je chanterai doucement, Dormez, ma charmante! Dormez dans votre beauté Bercez-vous d'un songe. Mieux que la réalité Vaut un beau mensonge. Quand vous vous réveillerez, Ma petite reine, Nous irons où vous voudrez Que l'amour nous mène. Nous prendrons, si vous voulez, Auprès de l'église La route à travers les blés, Quand viendra la brise. Ou bien les petits sentiers Autour du village, Où saules et peupliers Bordent le rivage. Si nous trouvons en chemin Une batelière, Nous irons jusqu'au moulin Qui bat la rivière; Nous nous arrêterons là. Plus tard, quand on passe, On se souvient... Tout cela Dans le cœur se place. Il est mille endroits fleuris, Ou gais, ou pleins d'ombre ; Il est toujours, près Paris, Des jardins sans nombre. Nous irons dîner, joyeux, Sous quelque tonnelle... N'ouvrez pas encor les yeux, Dormez, ô ma belle !
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Auguste de Châtillon, Les poésies d'Auguste de Châtillon (3e éd. très augm.) / [préf. par Théophile Gautier], Paris, librairie du "Petit Journal", 1866, pages 38-39
Text Authorship:
- by Auguste de Châtillon (1808 - 1881), "La Sieste", written 1855?, appears in Chant et poésie, appears in A la grand' Pinte, Paris, Éd. E. Dentu, first published 1855 [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 Benjamin Louis Paul Godard (1849 - 1895), "La sieste", op. 10 no. 1 [ high voice and piano ], from 12 morceaux de chant, 3-ième série, no. 1, Éd. Durand, Schoenewerck & Cie [sung text not yet checked]
- by Georges Eugène Marty (1860 - 1908), "La siesta", published [1886] [ medium voice and piano ], from Six mélodies, no. 3, Paris, Éd. Heugel et Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Théodore César Salomé (1834 - 1896), "La Sieste", <<1873 [ high voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel et Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean-Baptiste Théodore Weckerlin (1821 - 1910), "La sieste" [ medium voice and piano ], from 25 Mélodies de J.B. Weckerlin, no. 23, Éd. Durand & Schoenewerck [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Michael P Rosewall) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-05-12
Line count: 40
Word count: 163
Don’t open your eyes yet, My sleeping beauty; The sun is shining, And you are radiant, Listen to me, while you sleep, To what I offer. I will sing sweetly, Sleep, my darling! Sleep there in your beauty, Cradled within a dream. Much better than reality Is a beautiful illusion. When you awaken, My petite queen, We will go anywhere you’d like For love to take us. If you wish, we could go Close by the church Through the wheat field Where the breezes are blowing. Or you may prefer little paths Outside the village, Where willows and poplars Line the river. If we might come upon A ferry woman, We can travel up to the windmill That churns the river; We will rest ourselves there. Later, when you pass it again, You can remember all of it Deep within the heart. There are a thousand flowery spots, Some bright, some completely shaded; There are always, near Paris, Innumerable gardens. We can dine, happily, Beneath an arbor… Don’t open your eyes yet, Sleep, oh my darling!
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"La siesta" = "The siesta"
"La sieste" = "The siesta"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Michael P Rosewall, (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 Auguste de Châtillon (1808 - 1881), "La Sieste", written 1855?, appears in Chant et poésie, appears in A la grand' Pinte, Paris, Éd. E. Dentu, first published 1855
This text was added to the website: 2026-08-03
Line count: 40
Word count: 176