by
Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
Je me rappelle ce matin de Damas
Language: French (Français) after the Arabic (العربية)
Je me rappelle ce matin de Damas
et le silence du jardin où tu sommeillais.
L'ombre de ton cou était bleue.
Tes seins se soulevaient et s'abaissaient
avec un rythme de source.
Tes bras, à l'abandon,
étaient deux ruisseaux d'argent sur l'herbe,
et des papillons se posaient sur tes ongles,
les prenant pour des roses.
A ce moment, dans les Jardins du Paradis,
mon père contemplait-il des vierges plus splendides ?
Je me suis étendu près de toi,
comme un mendiant près d'une mosquée.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, Le Jardin des Caresses, 73e édition, Paris : L'édition d'art H. Piazza, 1921, p.78
Text Authorship:
Based on:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by René Bernier (1905 - 1984), "La Mosquee", published 1924, copyright © 1985 [ voice and piano ], from Poèmes exotiques, no. 3, Brussels: Ed. Bizet [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean Clergue (1905 - 1971), "La mosquée", 1925, published 1930 [ medium voice and piano ], Éd. Henry Lemoine [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jean Déré (1886 - 1970), "La mosquée", published 1921 [ voice and piano ], from Quatre chants arabes, no. 2, Éd. Maurice Sénart (Salabert) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Marcel Pollet (1883 - 1961), "Sommeil", 1915, published 1918 [ medium voice and piano ], from Chants arabes, no. 3, Paris, Éditions Rouart, Lerolle & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Grant Hicks
[Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2025-03-03
Line count: 13
Word count: 83
I remember that morning in Damascus
Language: English after the French (Français)
I remember that morning in Damascus
and the silence of the garden where you were sleeping.
The shadow of your neck was blue.
Your breasts rose and fell
with the rhythm of a wellspring.
Your careless arms
were two rivulets of silver on the grass,
and butterflies alit on your nails,
mistaking them for roses.
At that moment, in the Gardens of Paradise,
was my father gazing at virgins any more magnificent?
I lay down next to you,
like a beggar next to a mosque.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"La mosquée" = "The Mosque"
"Sommeil" = "Sleep"
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:
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2026-02-24
Line count: 13
Word count: 85
