Ainsi est la vie | Semblable à la chute de l'étoile

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by Henry King (1592 - 1669)

Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Like to the falling of a star

Language: English

Our translations: FRE

Like to the falling of a star,
Or [as the flights]¹ of eagles are;
Or like the fresh spring's gaudy hue,
Or silver drops of morning dew;
Or like a wind that chafes the flood,
Or bubbles which on water stood:
Even such is man, whose borrowed [light]²
Is straight call'd in, and paid to night.
  The wind blows out, the bubble dies;
  The spring entombed in autumn lies.
  The dew dries up, the star is shot;
  The flight is past and man forgot.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• R. Bennett

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
Note: author given as "Harry King" in the Bennett score.
¹ Bennett: "like the flight"
² Bennett: "plight"

Text Authorship:

by Henry King (1592 - 1669), first published 1664 [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 Richard Rodney Bennett (1936 - 2012), "Like to the falling of a star", from Tenebrae, no. 2. [
text verified 1 time
]
by Olivier Greif (1950 - 2000), "Sic vita", op. 310 no. 4 (1995) [voice and piano], from Les chants de l'âme, no. 4. [
text not verified
]

Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):

FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "Ainsi est la vie", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 86

Ainsi est la vie

Language: French (Français) after the English

Semblable à la chute de l'étoile,
Ou comme est le vol de l'aigle ;
Ou comme la couleur éclatante du frais printemps,
Ou les gouttes d'argent de la rosée du matin ;
Ou comme un vent qui frotte le flot,
Ou des bulles qui se tenaient sur l'eau :
Même ainsi est l'homme, dont la lumière empruntée
Est aussitôt passée, et payée pour la nuit.
Le vent s'arrête, la bulle meurt ;
Le printemps est enseveli dans les mensonges de l'automne.
La rosée sèche, l'étoile est abattue ;
Le vol est passé et l'homme oublie.

Text Authorship:

Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2010 by Guy Laffaille, (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 English by Henry King (1592 - 1669), first published 1664
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2010-08-01
Line count: 12
Word count: 90