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Elles ont les épaules hautes Et l'air malin Ou bien des mines qui déroutent La confiance est dans la poitrine À la hauteur où l'aube de leurs seins se lève Pour dévêtir la nuit Des yeux à casser des cailloux Des sourires sans y penser Pour chaque rêve Des rafales de cris de neige [Des lacs de nudité]1 Et des ombres déracinées. Il faut les croire sur baiser Et sur parole et sur regard Et ne baiser que leurs baisers Je ne montre que ton visage Les grands orages de ta gorge Tout ce que je connais et tout ce que j'ignore Mon amour ton amour ton amour ton amour.
Confirmed with Paul Éluard, Œuvres complètes, Vol. 1, Paris: Gallimard, 1968, Page 303.
Note: the text first appeared in the revue La Révolution surréaliste, December 15, 1929, n°12, and then in À toute épreuve, Éd. Surréalistes, 1930.
1 omitted by Poulenc.Text Authorship:
- by Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (1895 - 1952), as Paul Éluard, "Amoureuses", written 1929, appears in À toute épreuve , first published 1929 [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 Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963), "Amoureuses", FP 77 no. 5 (1935), published 1935 [ medium voice and piano ], from Cinq Poèmes de Paul Éluard, no. 5, Éd. Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Enamorades", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Peter Low) , "Women in love", copyright © 2002, (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 between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 19
Word count: 111
They have high shoulders and a mischievous appearance or else disconcerting expressions. Confidence is in their chests at the height where the dawn of their breasts rises to undress the night. They have eyes that could break pebbles, and unconscious smiles. For every dream, squalls of shouting and snow, and uprooted shadows. One has to believe them by their kisses and their words and their gazes, and kiss only their kisses. I show only your face, the great storms of your bosom, all that I know and all that I don't know, my love... your love... your love ... your love.
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.
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (1895 - 1952), as Paul Éluard, "Amoureuses", written 1929, appears in À toute épreuve , first published 1929
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 101