Tout se passe à peu près comme
Language: French (Français)
Tout se passe à peu près comme
si l'on reprochait à la pomme
d'être bonne à manger.
Mais il reste d'autres dangers.
Celui de la laisser sur l'arbre,
celui de la sculpter en marbre,
et le dernier, le pire :
de lui en vouloir d'être en cire.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Poèmes français. Vergers. Les Roses. Les Fenêtres. Carnet de Poche. Poèmes épars, Paris: Paul Hartmann, ed., 1935, page 11.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Jean Philippe Dartois , "La pomme", 2017 [ voice and piano ], from Vergers, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Manuel Pedro Ferreira (b. 1959), "Tout se passe à peu près", 1989, first performed 1990 [ soprano and piano ], from Três Canções de Rilke, no. 2, can be found on the CD Vocalizos (Movieplay, 1997) [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2018-03-27
Line count: 8
Word count: 46
Everything happens more or less
Language: English after the French (Français)
Everything happens more or less
as if we were to reproach the apple
for being good to eat.
But there remain other dangers.
That of leaving it on the tree,
that of sculpting it in marble,
and the last, and worst:
wishing it to be made of wax.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"La pomme" = "The Apple"
"Tout se passe à peu près" = "Everything Happens More or Less"
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:
This text was added to the website: 2025-08-30
Line count: 8
Word count: 48
