The Water Lily | The air is misty. The reeds, rusty as old bones

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Edmond Haraucourt (1856 - 1941)

Translation © by Faith J. Cormier

Le nénuphar

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG GER

L’air s’embrume : les joncs, roux comme de vieux os,
Encadrent l'étang noir qui dort sous le silence.
L’eau plate luit dans une opaque somnolence
Où le ciel renversé fait glisser des oiseaux.

Et là-bas, loin des bords gluants, loin des roseaux,
Seul, bercé dans sa fière et souple nonchalance,
Un Nénuphar, splendeur nageante, se balance,
Tout blanc sur la noirceur immobile des eaux.

— Ainsi, tu t’ouvriras peut-être, un soir d’automne,
Ô mon suprême amour, espoir d’un cœur atone,
Fleur triste et froide éclose au lac de mes ennuis.

Et le chaste parfum de ta corolle pâle
Montera dans le calme insondable des nuits,
Avec le dernier cri de ma douleur qui râle.

Text Authorship:

by Edmond Haraucourt (1856 - 1941), "Le nénuphar", written 1885, appears in L'Âme nue, in 2. La Vie intérieure, in 3. Le Soir, no. 25, Éd. Fasquelle, first published 1885 [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 François Berthet (1873 - 1956), "Le nénuphar", op. 7 no. 3 [ medium voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. Rouart-Lerolle [sung text not yet checked]
by Charles Koechlin (1867 - 1950), "Le nénuphar", op. 13 no. 3 (1897) [ high voice with piano and flute, or orchestra ], from Poèmes d'automne, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "The Water Lily", copyright © 2001, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Die Wasserlilie", copyright © 2017, (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: 14
Word count: 113

The Water Lily

Language: English after the French (Français)

The air is misty. The reeds, rusty as old bones,
ring the black pond, sleeping in the silence.
The still water shines in vague drowsiness,
where birds glide through an upside-down sky.
 
Far from the sticky shores and the reeds,
alone, rocked in its proud and supple nonchalance,
a water lily, all swimming splendor, rocks,
stark white on the still black waters.
 
Thus perhaps you will open up, some autumn evening,
my highest love, hope of a listless heart.
Cold, sad flower, blooming in the lake of my cares,
and the chaste perfume of your pale corollas
will rise into the measureless calm of the nights,
with the last dying cry of my pain!

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2001 by Faith J. Cormier, (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 French (Français) by Edmond Haraucourt (1856 - 1941), "Le nénuphar", written 1885, appears in L'Âme nue, in 2. La Vie intérieure, in 3. Le Soir, no. 25, Éd. Fasquelle, first published 1885
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 114