Sylvie | If you want to know, my beauty

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by Paul de Choudens (1850 - 1925)

Translation © by Dennis Gotkowski

Sylvie

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: CAT ENG GER

Si tu veux savoir ma belle,
Où s'envole à tire d'aile,
L'oiseau qui chantait sur l'ormeau ?
Je te le dirai ma belle,
Il vole vers qui l'appelle
Vers celui-là
Qui l'aimera ! 

Si tu veux savoir ma blonde,
Pourquoi sur terre, et sur l'onde
La nuit tout s'anime et s'unit ?
Je te le dirai ma blonde,
C'est qu'il est une heure au monde
Où, loin du jour,
Veille l'amour !

Si tu veux savoir Sylvie,
Pourquoi j'aime a la folie
Tes yeux brillants et langoureux ?
Je te le dirai Sylvie,
C'est que sans toi dans la vie 
Tout pour mon cœur
N'est que douleur !

Text Authorship:

by Paul de Choudens (1850 - 1925) [author's text not yet checked 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 Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924), "Sylvie", op. 6 no. 3 (1878), published 1879 [ voice and piano ], Choudens [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Sílvia", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Dennis Gotkowski) , "Sylvie", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Nele Gramß) , "Sylvia", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 21
Word count: 103

Sylvie

Language: English after the French (Français)

If you want to know, my beauty,
where flies swiftly on the wing
the bird that sang on the elm?
I will tell it to you, my beauty,
he flies toward one who calls him
toward that one who will love him!


If you want to know, my blonde one,
why, on land and over the waves
at night everything comes to life and unites?
I will tell it to you, my blonde one,
it is a time in the world
when, far from the day, love awakes!


If you want to know, Sylvie,
why I so madly love
your shining and languishing eyes?
I will tell it to you, Sylvie,
without you in my life,
everything is, for my heart, only suffering!

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2008 by Dennis Gotkowski, (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 de Choudens (1850 - 1925)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2008-12-23
Line count: 18
Word count: 124