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It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

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by Lucile de Chateaubriand (1764 - 1804)
Translation © by John Wagstaff

À la lune
Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  ENG
Chaste déesse ! Déesse si pure, 
que jamais même les roses de la pudeur 
ne se mêlent à tes tendres clartés,
J'ose te prendre pour confidente de mes sentiments.
Je n'ai point, non plus que toi, 
à rougir de mon propre cœur.
Mais quelque fois le souvenir 
du jugement injuste et aveugle des hommes
Couvre mon front de nuages, ainsi que le tien.
Comme toi, les erreurs et les misères 
de ce monde inspirent mes rêveries.
Mais plus heureuse que moi, citoyenne des cieux,
tu conserves toujours la sérénité ;
Les tempêtes et les orages qui s'élèvent de notre globe
glissent sur ton disque paisible.
Déesse aimable à ma tristesse, 
verse ton froid repos dans mon âme.

Text Authorship:

  • by Lucile de Chateaubriand (1764 - 1804) [author's text not yet checked 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 Darius Milhaud (1892 - 1974), "À la lune", op. 10 no. 2 (1913), published 1914 [ medium voice and piano ], from Trois Poèmes en prose de Lucile de Chateaubriand, no. 2, Albert Zunz Mathot [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • ENG English (John Wagstaff) , "To the moon", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-07-01
Line count: 17
Word count: 115

To the moon
Language: English  after the French (Français) 
Chaste goddess! Goddess so pure,
That even the pink hues of shame 
may never sully your soft light.
I dare to make you the confidante of my feelings.
Like you, I have no reason to blush 
for anything in my own heart;
But, like yours, my face is sometimes 
covered with clouds at the memory 
of humanity's unfair and blind judgment.
Like you, the errors and miseries 
of this world influence my dreams.
But, citizen of the heavens, you are happier than I,
For you always retain your serenity:
The storms and tempests that rise up from our world 
glide over your quiet surface.
Goddess, you who look kindly upon my sadness,
Pour your cold tranquility into my soul.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2009 by John Wagstaff, (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 Lucile de Chateaubriand (1764 - 1804)
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2009-09-22
Line count: 17
Word count: 119

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