Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
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.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Notre bateau glisse sur le fleuve calme. Au delà du verger qui borde la rive, je regarde les montagnes bleues et les nuages blancs. Mon amie sommeille, la main dans l'eau. Un papillon s'est posé sur son épaule, a battu des ailes puis s'est envolé. Je l'ai suivi des yeux, longtemps. Il se dirigeait vers les montagnes de Tchang-nân. Etait-ce un papillon, ou le rêve que venait de faire mon amie ?
Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1922, pages 29-30.
Text Authorship:
- by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Notre bateau glisse...", appears in La flûte de jade, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1920 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Chang-Wou-Kien (1879 - 1931) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by G. Basilewsky , "Notre bateau glisse", op. 18 no. 1 [ voice and piano ], from Trois poèmes chinois, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by André Bled , "Notre bateau glisse", 1945 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Delune (1876 - 1940), "Notre bateau glisse", 1922, published 1924 [ medium voice, piano, flute ad libitum ], from Le Collier des offrandes, six poèmes lyriques d'après des poésies chinoises, no. 3, Paris, Éditions Hérelle, Fortemps, & Cie [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jacqueline Despas (1893 - 1968), "Notre bateau glisse", published 1926 [ medium voice and piano ], from Poèmes Chinois Extraits de La Flûte de jade, no. 2, Éd. Jean Jobert [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marius-François Gaillard (1900 - 1973), "Notre bateau glisse", 1921 [ voice and piano ], from Quatre mélodies chinoises, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pierre, Baron de Maurice (1868 - 1936), "Notre bateau glisse", op. 36 no. 2 (1925-1926), published [1927] [ voice and piano ], from La flûte de jade: Sept Poésies chinoises traduites par Franz Toussaint, no. 2, London, Oxford University Press [sung text not yet checked]
- by Raymond Moulaert (1875 - 1962), "Notre bateau glisse", 1917, published 1922 [ voice and piano ], from Quatre poèmes chinois extraits de La Flûte de Jade de Franz Toussaint, no. 1, Paris, Éd. Maurice Sénart
Score: IMSLP [external link] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "Our boat glides ..", copyright © 2026, (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: 2020-10-14
Line count: 9
Word count: 71
Our boat glides on the placid river. Beyond the orchard that runs along the bank, I gaze at the blue mountains and the white clouds. My love dozes, her hand in the water. A butterfly has landed on her shoulder, flapped its wings then flown off. I followed it with my eyes for a long time. It was headed towards the Tchang-nân mountains. Was it a butterfly, or the dream my love had just dreamed?
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 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 Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Notre bateau glisse...", appears in La flûte de jade, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1920
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Chang-Wou-Kien (1879 - 1931) [text unavailable]
This text was added to the website: 2026-04-15
Line count: 9
Word count: 75