by
Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)
La terre les eaux va buvant
Language: French (Français)
La terre les eaux va buvant
L'arbre la boit par sa racine
La mer éparse boit le vent
et le soleil boit la marine
Le soleil est bu de la lune
Tout boit soit en haut ou en bas
Suivant cette règle commune
Pourquoi donc ne boirions nous pas?
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Pierre (Onfroy) de Bréville (1861 - 1949), "La terre les eaux va buvant", published 1925 [ medium voice and piano ], Édition Rouart, Lerolle [sung text not yet checked]
- by Guillaume Costeley (1530 - 1606), "La terre les eaux va buvant" [sung text checked 2 times]
- by Arthur Honegger (1892 - 1955), "La terre les eaux va buvant", alternate title: "Chanson à boire", H. 184 no. 4 (1944-1945), published 1947 [ low voice and piano ], from Romances choisies, quatre chansons pour voix grave, no. 4, Paris, Éd. Salabert [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Roland de Lassus (1532 - 1594), "La terre les eaux va buvant", 1565 [ vocal quintet a cappella ] [sung text checked 2 times]
- by Estienne du Tertre (flourished mid 16th century), "La terre les eaux va buvant", 1559 [ vocal quartet a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (David Wyatt) , "Earth goes on by drinking the rain", copyright © 2012, (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: 8
Word count: 49
Earth goes on by drinking the rain
Language: English after the French (Français)
Earth goes on by drinking the rain,
The tree drinks from the earth through its roots
The scattered seas drink the wind,
And the sun drinks the ocean;
The sun is drunk by the moon.
All things drink, high or low;
Following this common rule
Why then should we not too?
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2012 by David Wyatt, (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.
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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), "Ode Anacréontique XXXI", written 1555, appears in Les Odes, no. 31
This text was added to the website: 2012-05-18
Line count: 8
Word count: 51