by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896)
Translation Singable translation by G. Hall

La lune blanche
Language: French (Français) 
Available translation(s): CAT ENG FIN GER GER GRE HUN ITA SPA SPA
La lune blanche 
Luit dans les bois ;
De chaque branche 
Part une voix 
Sous la ramée...

Ô bien aimée.

L'étang reflète,
Profond miroir,
La silhouette
Du saule noir
Où le vent pleure...

Rêvons, c'est l'heure.

Un vaste et tendre
Apaisement
Semble descendre
Du firmament
Que l'astre irise...

C'est l'heure exquise.

About the headline (FAQ)

Authorship:

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

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Píseň"
  • ENG English (Grant A. Lewis) , "The white moon", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Charles Hopkins) , "The Moment of Ecstasy", written 2002, first published 2002, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Charles Hopkins) , written c2005, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Kalpea kuu ", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Pierre Mathé) , "Der weiße Mond", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Elaine Marie Ortiz-Arandes) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GRE Greek (Ελληνικά) [singable] (Christakis Poumbouris) , "Λευκή σελήνη", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Tamás Rédey) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Árpád Tóth) , "La lune blanche"
  • HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Dezső Kosztolányi) , "Fehér hold"
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "La luna bianca", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • SPA Spanish (Español) (Elisa Rapado) , "La hora exquisita", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • SPA Spanish (Español) (Alberto Bonati) , "La luna blanca", copyright © 2007, (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: 18
Word count: 51

In the moonshower
Language: English  after the French (Français) 
O'er the wood's brow,
Pale, the moon stares;
In every bough
Wandering airs
Faintly suspire...

O heart's desire!

Two willow-trees
Waver and weep.
One in the breeze,
One in the deep
Glass of the stream...

Dream we our dream!

An infinite
Resignedness
Rains where the white
Mists opalesce
In the moon-shower...

Stay, perfect hour!

Note: in the Loomis setting, the stanzas with five lines are recited, and the stanzas with just one line are sung.


Authorship:

Based on:

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


Researcher for this text: Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2020-08-04
Line count: 18
Word count: 54