Baiser ! rose trémière au jardin des caresses ! Vif accompagnement sur le clavier des dents Des doux refrains qu'Amour chante en les cœurs ardents Avec sa voix d'archange aux langueurs charmeresses ! Sonore et gracieux Baiser, divin Baiser ! Volupté nonpareille, ivresse inénarrable ! Salut ! L'homme, penché sur ta coupe adorable, S'y grise d'un bonheur qu'il ne sait épuiser. Comme le vin du Rhin et comme la musique, Tu consoles et tu berces, et le chagrin Expire avec la moue en ton pli purpurin... Qu'un plus grand, Goëthe ou Will, te dresse un vers classique. Moi, je ne puis, chétif trouvère de Paris, T'offrir que ce bouquet de strophes enfantines : Sois bénin et, pour prix, sur les lèvres mutines D'Une que je connais, Baiser, descends, et ris.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Paul Verlaine, Poëmes saturniens, Paris: Alphonse Lemerre, 1866, pages 107-108.
Text Authorship:
- by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), "Il bacio", appears in Poèmes saturniens, 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 François-Antoine Agostini (b. 1898), "Le baiser", [1940] [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Serge Benoist de Gastyne (1930 - 1992), "Il Bacio" [ medium voice, flute, and vibraharp ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jeanne Leleu (1898 - 1979), "Il bacio", published [1924] [ voice and piano ], Paris, Choudens [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul-Louis-Camille Schlosser , "Il bacio", [1940] [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Bergen Weeks Applegate) , "Il bacio", subtitle: "(The Kiss)", appears in Poems Saturnine
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2012-01-19
Line count: 16
Word count: 123
The Kiss! Pink hollyhock in Love's domain! A lively tune on little keys of pearl Framed by the lips of some dear girl. An angel's song with love's well known refrain. Sweet sounding Kiss! O melody divine! What luxury can match your drunkenness? From your bright cup man drinks his deepest bliss, And thus grows dizzy as from heavy wine. Like the Rhine's vintage, or a singer's rhymes, You soothe our pain — old sorrows cold Die with the pout upon each purple fold — Let Avon's swan or Goethe praise betimes. I, unworthy bard of Paris, offer this: These childish verses, sad bouquet at best; Be kind, and speed you on your gracious quest; Light on her stubborn lips and laugh — thou Kiss!
Confirmed with Bergen Applegate, Paul Verlaine: His Absinthe-Tinted Song, Chicago, Ralph Fletcher Seymour, The Alderbrink Press, 1916, pages 65-66.
Text Authorship:
- by Bergen Weeks Applegate (b. 1865), "Il bacio", subtitle: "(The Kiss)", appears in Poems Saturnine [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), "Il bacio", appears in Poèmes saturniens, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1866
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2022-03-13
Line count: 16
Word count: 125