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J'ai dit ton nom à l'hirondelle errante ; J'ai dit ton nom à la source où je bois ; J'ai dit ton nom à la rose odorante ; J'ai dit ton nom à la feuille du bois. J'ai dit ton nom à la brise embaumée ; J'ai dit ton nom au nuage argenté, Et tous les deux, ma douce bien-aimée, Avec amour au loin l'ont apporté. Et maintenant la rose sur sa tige Le dit tout bas au léger papillon ; Dans l'air brumeux, la feuille qui voltige En tournoyant, va le dire au sillon. En jaillissant de la source limpide Le flot le dit au murmurant [roseau]1 ; Dans ses ébats l'hirondelle rapide Discrètement le dit à chaque oiseau. En soupirant, lorsque la brise passe, Elle le dit aux ormeaux, aux ajoncs, Et le nuage emporté dans l'espace Le dit aux tours des antiques donjons. L'homme est venu pour le savoir, [mon ange]2, Il est moqueur, et j'ai répondu, non ! [Il est méchant, et j'ai peur de sa fange]3 ; À l'homme seul je n'ai point dit ton nom.
Confirmed with Charles Manso, Les Chants du soir: poésies, Lille, L. Danel, 1869, Pages 56-57.
1 Koszul: "ruisseau"2 Koszul: "mignonne"
3 Koszul: "Il flétrirait les fleurs de ta couronne"
Text Authorship:
- by Charles Manso (1835 - 1903), "Discrétion", written 1869?, appears in Les Chants du soir, poésies, in 2. Les sentiers du cœur, no. 2, Lille, Éd. L. Danel, first published 1869 [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 Julien Koszul (1844 - 1927), "Discrétion", published [1879] [ high voice and piano ], from Deux Mélodies, no. 2, Éd. Durand, Schoenewerck & Cie. [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "Discretion", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-11-17
Line count: 24
Word count: 177
I spoke your name to the wandering swallow; I spoke your name to the spring where I drink; I spoke your name to the fragrant rose; I spoke your name to the leaf of the wood. I spoke your name to the perfumed breeze; I spoke your name to the silvery cloud; And both of them, my sweet beloved, Lovingly carried it far and wide. And now the rose on its stem Whispers it to the nimble butterfly; In the misty air, the leaf that flutters And whirls goes to speak it to the furrow. Gushing from the crystalline spring The torrent speaks it to the murmuring [reed]1; In its frolics the speedy swallow Speaks it discreetly to every bird. With a sigh, the breeze in its passing Speaks it to the elms, to the gorse, And the cloud carried away into space Speaks it to the towers of antique dungeons. Man came in order to learn it, [my angel]2, He is a mocker, and I answered, No! [He is a villain, and I fear his filth]3; To man alone I did not speak your name.
1 Koszul: "brook"
2 Koszul: "darling"
3 Koszul: "He would wither the flowers of your crown"
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.
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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Charles Manso (1835 - 1903), "Discrétion", written 1869?, appears in Les Chants du soir, poésies, in 2. Les sentiers du cœur, no. 2, Lille, Éd. L. Danel, first published 1869
This text was added to the website: 2025-12-11
Line count: 24
Word count: 190