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Ton menton pose dans ta main ; Tes lèvres songent, évasives, Tes prunelles dorment, pensives, Sur une branche de jasmin... La bouche brûlant de carmin. Sous tes parures excessives Tu prends, dans les ombres massives. L'air fabuleux et surhumain. Et mon amour qui s'exacerbe Devant ton silence superbe Cherche en vain, sans trouver la paix, Ce je ne sais quoi de ton âme, De ton cœur, de tes sens, ô femme, Qu'il ne [possédera]1 jamais.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Albert Samain, Au Jardin de l'Infante, Paris: Mercure de France, 1919, Pages 21-22.
Note: the poem first appeared in the revue Au Mercure de France, August 1890, and later in Au Jardin de L'Infante, 1893.
1 Baton: "possèdera"Text Authorship:
- by Albert Victor Samain (1858 - 1900), no title, written 1890, appears in Au jardin de l'Infante, in 1. Les Heures d'été, no. 5, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1890 [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 René-Emmanuel Baton (1879 - 1940), as Rhené-Baton, "Ton menton pose dans ta main", op. 14 no. 5 (1906), published 1908-1910 [ medium voice and piano ], from Les heures d'été, no. 5, Paris, Éd. Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Maurice Le Boucher (1882 - 1964), "Tourment", 1909, published 1910 [ high voice and piano ], from Quatre mélodies, poésies d'Albert Samain, no. 4, Paris, Éd. Costallat & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adolphe Piriou (1878 - 1964), "Ton menton pose dans ta main", op. 1 no. 3 (1905), published 1910 [ high voice and piano ], from Les Heures d'été, no. 3, Éd. Société d'éditions musicales (Ancien fonds Pierre Dupont) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jacques Guillaume de Sauville de la Presle (1888 - 1969), "Ton menton pose dans ta main", published 1922 [ voice and piano ], from Heures d'été, no. 4, Éd. Rouart Lerolle [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jacques Vaucamps , "Ton menton pose dans ta main", published 1919 [ high voice and piano ], from Les Heures d'été, no. 5, Éd. Albert Zunz Mathot [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adolf Waterman (1886 - 1966), "Ton menton posé dans ta main", copyright © 1927 [ voice and piano ], from Heures d'été, no. 5, Paris : Costallat [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2014-01-27
Line count: 14
Word count: 75
Your chin rests in your hand; Evasive, your lips dream, Pensive, your pupils drowse On a branch of jasmine... Your mouth afire with carmine. Beneath your excessive finery You take on, in the solid shadows, A fabulous and superhuman air. And my love, growing stronger In the face of your haughty silence, Seeks in vain, finding no peace, That je ne sais quoi in your soul, In your heart, in your senses, O woman, That it will never possess.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Ton menton posé dans ta main" = "Your chin resting in your hand"
"Tourment" = "Torment"
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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Albert Victor Samain (1858 - 1900), no title, written 1890, appears in Au jardin de l'Infante, in 1. Les Heures d'été, no. 5, Paris, Éd. du Mercure de France, first published 1890
This text was added to the website: 2025-08-21
Line count: 14
Word count: 79