Pour soulever un poids si lourd, Sisyphe, il faudrait ton courage ; Bien qu'on ait du cœur à l'ouvrage, L'art est long et le temps est court. Loin des sépultures célèbres, Vers un cimetière isolé, Mon cœur, comme un tambour voilé, Va battant des marches funèbres. Maint joyau dort enseveli Dans les ténèbres et l'oubli, Bien loin des pioches et des sondes ; Mainte fleur épanche à regret Son parfum doux comme un secret Dans [des]1 solitudes profondes.
Confirmed with first publication, Revue des Deux Mondes, seconde série de la nouvelle période, tome dixième, Spleen et Idéal, Paris: Bureau de la Revue des Deux Mondes, June 1, 1855, pages 1091-1092. Also confirmed with Les Fleurs du Mal, Spleen et Idéal, Paris: Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, 1861, pages 34-35. Punctuation and capitalization follows 1855 edition.
1 1857 edition: "les"Text Authorship:
- by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), "Le Guignon", written 1851/1852, appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 1. Spleen et Idéal, no. 11, Paris, Bureau de la Revue des Deux Mondes, first published 1855 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Nguyen Phuc Buu Phoi (b. 1945), "Le Guignon", 2006?, published 2006 [ soprano and piano ], from Les Fleurs du Mal, six mélodies pour soprano et piano, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Cyril Meir Scott) , "Ill-Luck", appears in The Flowers of Evil, London, Elkin Mathews, first published 1909
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2021-12-14
Line count: 14
Word count: 77
This heavy burden to uplift, O Sisyphus, thy pluck is required! And even though the heart aspired, Art is long and Time is swift. Afar from sepulchres renowned, To a grave-yard, quite apart, Like a broken drum, my heart, Beats the funeral marches' sound. Many a buried jewel sleeps In the long forgotten deeps, Far from mattock and from sound; Many a flower wafts aloft Its perfumes, like a secret soft, Within the solitudes profound.
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Cyril Scott, The Flowers of Evil [by Charles Baudelaire; translated into English verse by Cyril Scott], London: Elkin Mathews, 1909, page 15.
Text Authorship:
- by Cyril Meir Scott (1879 - 1970), "Ill-Luck", appears in The Flowers of Evil, London, Elkin Mathews, first published 1909 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), "Le Guignon", written 1851/1852, appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 1. Spleen et Idéal, no. 11, Paris, Bureau de la Revue des Deux Mondes, first published 1855
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2022-01-28
Line count: 14
Word count: 75