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Si l'enfant sommeille, Il verra l'abeille, Quand elle aura fait son miel, Danser entre terre et ciel. Si l'enfant repose, Un ange tout rose, Que la nuit seule on peut voir, Viendra lui dire : "Bonsoir !" Si l'enfant est sage, Sur son doux visage La Vierge se penchera, Et longtemps lui parlera. Si mon enfant m'aime, Dieu dira lui-même : "J'aime cet enfant qui dort ; Qu'on lui porte un rêve d'or ! "Fermez ses paupières, Et sur ses prières, De mes jardins pleins de fleurs, Faites glisser les couleurs. "Ourlez-lui des langes Avec vos doigts d'anges, Et laissez sur son chevet Pleuvoir votre blanc duvet. "Mettez-lui des ailes Comme aux tourterelles, Pour venir dans mon soleil [Danser]1 jusqu'à son réveil ! "Qu'il fasse un voyage Aux bras d'un nuage, Et laissez-le, s'il lui plaît, Boire à mes ruisseaux de lait ! "Donnez-lui la chambre De perles et d'ambre, Et qu'il partage en dormant, Nos gâteaux de diamants ! "Brodez-lui des voiles Avec mes étoiles, Pour qu'il navigue en bateau Sur mon lac d'azur et d'eau ! "Que la lune éclaire L'eau pour lui plus claire, Et qu'il prenne au lac changeant Mes plus fins poissons d'argent ! "Mais je veux qu'il dorme Et qu'il se conforme Au silence des oiseaux [Dans leurs maisons de]2 roseaux ! "Car si l'enfant pleure, On entendra l'heure Tinter partout qu'un enfant A fait ce que Dieu défend ! "L'écho de la rue Au bruit accourue, Quand l'heure aura soupiré, Dira : "L'enfant a pleuré !" "Et sa tendre mère, Dans sa nuit amère, Pour son ingrat nourrisson Ne saura plus de chanson ! "S'il brame, s'il crie, Par l'aube en furie Ce cher agneau révolté Sera peut-être emporté ! "Un si petit être Par le toit, peut-être, Tout en criant, s'en ira, Et jamais ne reviendra ! "Qu'il rôde en ce monde, Sans qu'on lui réponde ! Jamais l'enfant que je dis, Ne verra mon paradis ! "Oui ! mais s'il est sage, Sur son doux visage La Vierge se penchera, Et longtemps lui parlera."
G. Bizet sets stanzas 1-2, 4, 7, 5, 12-15, 3
E. Doré sets stanzas 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 12, 13, 15
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesConfirmed with Les Œuvres poétiques de Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, ed. by Marc Bertrand, Grenoble : Presses universitaires de Grenoble, 1973.
Note: the poem was first published in Le musée des familles, August 1835.
Notes
Stanza 7, line 2: in the Doré score there is a typo: it has "aux tourterelle" instead of "aux tourterelles".
Stanza 12, line 4: in the Doré score there is a typo: it has "leurs maison" instead of "leurs maisons"
2 Bizet: "Couchés parmi les"
Text Authorship:
- by Marceline Desbordes-Valmore (1786 - 1859), "Dormeuse", written 1835, appears in Pauvres Fleurs, first published 1835 [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 Hanna Beekhuis (1889 - 1980), "Dormeuse", published 1947, Amsterdam : Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
- by Julie Bernard , "Dormeuse", published 1883, Paris : Henry Lemoine [sung text not yet checked]
- by Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875), "Berceuse sur un vieil air", op. 21 no. 11 (1868), published 1873, stanzas 1-2,4,7,5,12-15,3 [ voice and piano ], from Vingt mélodies pour chant et piano, no. 11, Paris, Éd. Choudens [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Marguerite Canal (1890 - 1978), "Dormeuse", published [1948] [ medium voice and piano ], from Quatre berceuses, no. 3, Édition Max Eschig [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernest Doré (1830 - 1884), "Dormeuse", op. 2, published [1854], stanzas 2,3,4,7,10,12,13,15 [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel
Score: Société des études Marceline Desbordes-Valmore [external link] [sung text checked 1 time] - by Irène Fuerison (1875 - 1931), "Dormeuse", op. 10 (1915) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edmond Michotte (1831 - 1914), "Dormeuse", published [1864] [ high voice and piano ], from Vingt-cinq morceaux de chant à une et à plusieurs voix avec accompagnement de piano, no. 10, Paris, Éd. Flaxland [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alice Pelliot , "Berceuse", Paris : Enoch et Cie [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean Planel (1903 - 1986), "Dormeuse", published 1961, Paris : Ecole du chant [sung text not yet checked]
- by Albert Vinzentini , "Berceuse", published 1883, Paris : Choudens père et fils [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Ahmed E. Ismail) , "Cradle song after an old air", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English [singable] (Michael P Rosewall) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 76
Word count: 328
1 If my babe will sleep for me, He will see a busy bee Making honey, flying high, Dancing twixt the earth and sky. 2 If my babe will go to bed, Then an angel dressed in red You’ll see when I douse the light; He’ll peek out and say: “Good night!” 4 If you love me, pray, God himself will say: When this child does what he’s told, I’ll bring him a dream of gold. 7 He will rise on wings, Like the dove that sings, High enough to reach the sun And dance ‘til the night is done. 5 Close your eyes and have no cares, Fold your hands and say your prayers. Let my gardens, colored bright, Beckon you to slumber tonight. 12 I know you will rest now, And that you can show me how Sleepy birds like quiet best, Lying in their reedy nest! 13 No more crying, not one tear, Or the clock chime you will hear, Ringing when a child is bad Or does things to make God sad. 14 In the street below Ev’ryone will know That the clock bell’s sighing Means some child is crying, 15 And his dear, sweet mother Suffers like no other, For her son who cries so long No more ever shall hear her song. 3 If you lie down quietly, Soon above your bed you’ll see Mother Mary bending near, Whisp’ring blessings in your ear.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Berceuse sur un vieil air" = "Lullaby on an Old Air"
"Dormeuse" = "The Sleeper"
Note: this is a translation of Bizet's version.
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2024 by Michael P Rosewall, (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 Marceline Desbordes-Valmore (1786 - 1859), "Dormeuse", written 1835, appears in Pauvres Fleurs, first published 1835
This text was added to the website: 2024-05-06
Line count: 40
Word count: 239