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by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892)
Translation by Léon Morel (1850 - 1917)

The path by which we twain did go
Language: English 
The path by which we twain did go,
         Which led by tracts that pleased us well,
         Thro' four sweet years arose and fell,
From flower to flower, from snow to snow:

And we with singing cheer'd the way,
         And, crown'd with all the season lent,
         From April on to April went,
And glad at heart from May to May:

But where the path we walk'd began
         To slant the fifth autumnal slope,
         As we descended following Hope,
There sat the Shadow fear'd of man;

Who broke our fair companionship,
         And spread his mantle dark and cold,
         And wrapt thee formless in the fold,
And dull'd the murmur on thy lip,

And bore thee where I could not see
         Nor follow, tho' I walk in haste,
         And think, that somewhere in the waste
The Shadow sits and waits for me. 

Text Authorship:

  • by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), "The path by which we twain did go", appears in In Memoriam A. H. H. obiit MDCCCXXXIII, no. 22 [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):

    [ None yet in the database ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in French (Français), a translation by Léon Morel (1850 - 1917) , no title, appears in In Memoriam, poèmes de Lord Alfred Tennyson traduits en vers français, Paris, Éd. Hachette, first published 1898 ; composed by Max d'Ollone.
    • Go to the text.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2018-12-07
Line count: 20
Word count: 139

Le sentier que jadis ensemble nous...
Language: French (Français)  after the English 
Le sentier que jadis ensemble nous suivîmes,
   En traversant charmés d'heureuses régions,
   Quatre ans nous conduisit, par la plaine et les monts, 
Des champs parés de fleurs à de neigeuses cimes.

Et toujours nos deux voix-joyeuses s'élevaient, 
   Et; couronnés des fleurs que donnait la saison, 
   D'un Avril au suivant nous foulions le gazon, 
Et de Mai jusqu'à Mai nos cœurs gaîment chantaient. 

Mais comme, un soir d'automne, en la cinquième année, 
   Sur le flanc d'un ravin le sentier s'inclinait,
   Au bas de ce vallon, où l'Espoir nous menait, 
Etait assise l'Ombre aux hommes redoutée

Et, brisant tout à coup notre amitié pure,
   Elle ouvrit à deux bras son manteau noir et froid, 
   De ses plis à ton corps fit un linceul étroit,
Sur ta bouche entr'ouverte étouffa le murmure,

Et t'emporta rapide où mon cœur haletant
   N'a pu te suivre, hélas ni même mon regard 
   Mais je marche à grands pas, et sais que, quelque part 
Sur le chemin désert, l'Ombre assise m'attend.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Léon Morel, In memoriam / poèmes de Lord Alfred Tennyson ; traduits en vers français, Librairie Hachette & Cie, p. 18


Text Authorship:

  • by Léon Morel (1850 - 1917), no title, appears in In Memoriam, poèmes de Lord Alfred Tennyson traduits en vers français, Paris, Éd. Hachette, first published 1898 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in English by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), "The path by which we twain did go", appears in In Memoriam A. H. H. obiit MDCCCXXXIII, no. 22
    • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Max d'Ollone (1875 - 1959), "Le sentier", published 1910 [ medium voice and piano ], from In Memoriam, fragments du poème de Tennyson, no. 3, Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel', Heugel et Cie. [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2022-09-25
Line count: 20
Word count: 163

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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