by
Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (1895 - 1952), as Paul Éluard
Peut‑il se reposer celui qui dort
Language: French (Français)
Our translations: ENG GER
Peut-il se reposer celui qui dort
Il ne voit pas la nuit ne voit pas l'invisible
Il a de grandes couvertures
Et des coussins de sang sur des coussins de boue
Sa tête est sous les toits et ses mains sont fermées
Sur les outils de la fatigue
Il dort pour éprouver sa force
La honte d'être aveugle dans un si grand silence
Aux rivages que la mer rejette
Il ne voit pas les poses silencieuses
Du vent qui fait entrer l'homme dans ses statues
Quand il s'apaise
Bonne volonté du sommeil
D'un bout à l'autre de la mort.
About the headline (FAQ)
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 Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963), "Peut-il se reposer", FP 77 no. 1 (1935), published 1935 [ high voice and piano ], from Cinq Poèmes de Paul Éluard, no. 1, Éd. Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Henri-Pierre Poupard (1901 - 1989), as Henri Sauguet, "Celui qui dort", 1963, first performed 1964 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Peter Low) , "Can he rest?", copyright © 2002, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Ingrid Schmithüsen) , "Kann er ruhen?", copyright © 2013, (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: 14
Word count: 99
Can he rest?
Language: English after the French (Français)
Can the sleeping man rest?
He cannot see the night, cannot see the invisible.
He has big blankets
and cushions of blood on cushions of mud.
His head is under the roofs, and his hands are clasped
on the tools of fatigue.
He is sleeping to test his strength -
shameful to be blind in such a great silence.
On the shores rejected by the ocean
he does not see the silent poses
of the wind which ushers man into its statues
when it calms down.
Oh the goodwill of sleep
for the entire length of death!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2002 by Peter Low, (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:
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 97
