Kann er ruhen? | Kann er ruhen der dort schläft

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 Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (1895 - 1952), as Paul Éluard

Translation © by Ingrid Schmithüsen

Peut‑il se reposer celui qui dort

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG GER

Peut-il se reposer celui qui dort
Il ne voit pas la nuit ne voit pas l'invisible
Il a de grandes couvertures
Et des coussins de sang sur des coussins de boue

Sa tête est sous les toits et ses mains sont fermées
Sur les outils de la fatigue
Il dort pour éprouver sa force
La honte d'être aveugle dans un si grand silence

Aux rivages que la mer rejette
Il ne voit pas les poses silencieuses
Du vent qui fait entrer l'homme dans ses statues
Quand il s'apaise

Bonne volonté du sommeil
D'un bout à l'autre de la mort.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (1895 - 1952), as Paul Éluard, "Peut-il se reposer", written 1930, appears in La vie immédiate, appears in À toute épreuve , in Confections, no. 13, Éd. Surréalistes, first published 1932 [author's text not yet checked 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 Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963), "Peut-il se reposer", FP 77 no. 1 (1935), published 1935 [ high voice and piano ], from Cinq Poèmes de Paul Éluard, no. 1, Éd. Durand [sung text checked 1 time]
by Henri-Pierre Poupard (1901 - 1989), as Henri Sauguet, "Celui qui dort", 1963, first performed 1964 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Peter Low) , "Can he rest?", copyright © 2002, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Ingrid Schmithüsen) , "Kann er ruhen?", copyright © 2013, (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: 99

Kann er ruhen?

Language: German (Deutsch) after the French (Français)

Kann er ruhen der dort schläft
Er sieht die Nacht nicht sieht nicht das Unsichtbare
Er hat große Decken
Und Kissen von Blut auf Kissen von Unrat

Sein Kopf ist überdacht und seine Hände liegen geschlossen
Auf den Gerätschaften der Ermattung
Er schläft um seine Macht zu erproben
Die Scham der Erblindung in solch großem Schweigen.

An Ufern die das Meer zurückweist
Nicht sieht er die lautlosen Stellungen
Des Windes der den Mensch in seine Standbilder einschließt
Wenn er sich besänftigt.

Gutwilligkeit des Schlummers
Zu beiden Seiten des Todes.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2013 by Ingrid Schmithüsen, (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 Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (1895 - 1952), as Paul Éluard, "Peut-il se reposer", written 1930, appears in La vie immédiate, appears in À toute épreuve , in Confections, no. 13, Éd. Surréalistes, first published 1932
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2013-05-30
Line count: 14
Word count: 89