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by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896)

Vœu
Language: French (Français) 
Ah ! les oaristys ! les premières maîtresses !
L'or des cheveux, l'azur des yeux, la fleur des chairs,
Et puis, parmi l'odeur des corps jeunes et chers,
La spontanéité craintive des caresses !

Sont-elles assez loin toutes ces allégresses
Et toutes ces candeurs ! Hélas ! toutes devers
Le printemps des regrets ont fui les noirs hivers
De mes ennuis, de mes dégoûts, de mes détresses !

Si que me voilà seul à présent, morne et seul,
Morne et désespéré, plus glacé qu'un aïeul,
Et tel qu'un orphelin pauvre sans sœur aînée.

Ô la femme à l'amour câlin et réchauffant,
Douce, pensive et brune, et jamais étonnée,
Et qui parfois vous baise au front, comme un enfant !

Confirmed with Paul Verlaine, Poëmes saturniens, Paris: Alphonse Lemerre, 1866, pages 19-20.


Text Authorship:

  • by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), "Vœu", appears in Poèmes saturniens, in 1. Melancholia, no. 4, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1866 [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 Dumas (1877 - 1952), "Vœu", published 1913 [ voice and piano ], Demets [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Robert Otlet , "Vœu", published 1935 [ voice and piano ], from Melancholia, no. 3, Bosworth et Cie [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Philip Wilby (b. 1949), "Vœu", copyright © 1988, first performed 1983 [ medium voice and piano ], from Ten songs of Paul Verlaine for medium voice and piano, Cycle I : Melancholia, no. 3, Chester Music [sung text not yet checked]

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

  • ENG English (Bergen Weeks Applegate) , "Vow", appears in Poems Saturnine, in 1. Melancholia, no. 4


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2012-01-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 111

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