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by François Coppée (1842 - 1908)
Translation by Emanuel von Geibel (1815 - 1884)

Les Trois Oiseaux
Language: French (Français) 
J'ai dit au ramier : - Pars & va quand même,
Au delà des champs d'avoine & de foin,
Me chercher la fleur qui fera qu'on m'aime.
       Le ramier m'a dit : - C'est trop loin !
 
Et j'ai dit à l'aigle : - Aide-moi, j'y compte,
Et, si c'est le feu du ciel qu'il me faut,
Pour l'aller ravir prends ton vol & monte.
       Et l'aigle m'a dit : - C'est trop haut !
 
Et j'ai dit [enfin]1 au vautour : - Dévore
Ce coeur trop plein d'elle & prends-en ta part.
Laisse ce qui peut être intact encore.
       Le vautour m'a dit : - C'est trop tard !

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   L. Diémer 

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Diémer : "alors"

Text Authorship:

  • by François Coppée (1842 - 1908), "Les trois oiseaux", written 1877, appears in Les Récits et les Élégies, in Élégies, in 2. L'Exilée, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre [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 Léo Delibes (1836 - 1891), "Les Trois Oiseaux", 1877, published 1891 [ vocal duet for 2 sopranos with piano ], Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Louis Diémer (1843 - 1919), "Les trois oiseaux ", published 1875 [ voice and piano ], from Vingt Mélodies, no. 12, Paris : Henri Heugel [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by André Gédalge (1856 - 1926), "Les Trois Oiseaux", 1879 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Eduard Lassen (1830 - 1904), "Les trois oiseaux" [ high voice and piano ], from Trois mélodies sur des poésies de F. Coppée, no. 3, Éd. J. Hamelle [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in English, a translation by Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy (1844 - 1881) , "The three birds", appears in Songs of a Worker, first published 1881 ; composed by William Henry Bell.
    • Go to the text.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Emanuel von Geibel (1815 - 1884) , "Drei Vögel", subtitle: "Französisches Liebeslied" ; composed by Franz Wilhelm Abt, A. Friedland, Eduard Lassen, Eberhard von Lüneburg, Carl Alexander Raida, L. Stein.
    • Go to the text.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-04-26
Line count: 12
Word count: 96

Ich sprach zur Taube: Flieg' und bring'...
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the French (Français) 
Ich sprach zur Taube: Flieg' und bring' im Schnabel
Das Kraut mir heim, das Liebesmacht verleiht!
Am Ganges blüht's, im alten Land der Fabel.
Die Taube sprach: Es ist zu weit.

Ich sprach zum Adler: Spanne dein Gefieder,
Und für das Herz, das kalt sich mir entzog,
Hol' einen Funken Glut vom Himmel nieder!
Der Adler sprach: Es ist zu hoch.

Da sprach zum Geier ich: Reiß aus dem Herzen
Den Namen mir, der drein gegraben steht!
Vergessen will ich lernen und verschmerzen.
Der Geier sprach: Es ist zu spät.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Emanuel von Geibel (1815 - 1884), "Drei Vögel", subtitle: "Französisches Liebeslied" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in French (Français) by François Coppée (1842 - 1908), "Les trois oiseaux", written 1877, appears in Les Récits et les Élégies, in Élégies, in 2. L'Exilée, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre
    • 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 Franz Wilhelm Abt (1819 - 1885), "Die drei Vögel", op. 597 (Vier Lieder für 1 tiefe Stimme mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1883 [ low voice and piano ], Leipzig, Siegel [sung text not yet checked]
  • by A. Friedland , "Drei Vögel", published 1900 [ voice and piano ], from Albumblätter. Sechs Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung, no. 6, Bremen, Praeger & Meier [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Eduard Lassen (1830 - 1904), "Ich sprach zur Taube", op. 67 (Sechs Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 3, published 1879 [ voice and piano ], Breslau, Hainauer [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Eberhard von Lüneburg (1840 - 1914), "Zu spät", op. 36, published 1884 [ voice and piano ], Braunschweig, Bauer [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Carl Alexander Raida (1852 - 1923), "Ich sprach zur Taube: flieg'", op. 90 (Drei Lieder für Bariton mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 3, published 1882 [ baritone and piano ], Berlin, Paez [sung text not yet checked]
  • by L. Stein , "Zu spät", op. 1 (Fünf Lieder für 1 mittlere Stimme mit Pianoforte) no. 4, published 1895 [ medium voice and piano ], Berlin, Bote & Bock [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-09-29
Line count: 12
Word count: 90

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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!
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