Iris, wearing her bright kerchief

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by Paul-Jean Toulet (1867 - 1920)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Iris, à son brillant mouchoir

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Iris, à son brillant mouchoir,
        De sept feux illumine
La molle averse qui chemine,
        Harmonieuse à choir.

Ah, sur les roses de l'été,
        Sois la mouvante robe,
Molle averse, qui me dérobe
        Leur aride beauté.

Et vous, dont le rire joyeux
        M'a caché tant d'alarmes,
Puissé-je voir enfin des larmes
        Monter jusqu'à vos yeux.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Paul-Jean Toulet, Les contrerimes, Paris: Emile-Paul Frères, 1923, page 18.

Text Authorship:

by Paul-Jean Toulet (1867 - 1920), no title, appears in Les Contrerimes, in Contrerimes, no. 3, 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), "Iris, à son brillant mouchoir", 1945, published 1946 [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ], from d’Ombre et de soleil, no. 6, Éd. Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
by Jacques Leguerney (1906 - 1997), "Iris", 1943 [ voice and piano ], from Dix Poèmes de Paul-Jean Toulet, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]

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: 2011-06-03
Line count: 12
Word count: 54

Iris, wearing her bright kerchief

Language: English after the French (Français)

Iris, wearing her bright kerchief,
        Lights up with seven flames
The gentle shower that passes by,
        Harmonious in its fall.

Ah, on the roses of Summer,
        Be the flowing gown,
Gentle shower, that conceals from me
        Their arid beauty.

And you, whose joyous laughter 
        Has hidden from me so many warnings,
May I at last see tears
        Rising to your eyes.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Iris" = "Iris"
"Iris, à son brillant mouchoir" = "Iris, wearing her bright kerchief"

Note: Iris was the Greek goddess of the rainbow.

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), no title, appears in Les Contrerimes, in Contrerimes, no. 3, Paris, Éd. Le Divan, first published 1921
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-01-31
Line count: 12
Word count: 61