Seigneur, savais-tu ce que tu faisais

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by Jens Peter Jacobsen (1847 - 1885)

Translation © by Pierre Mathé

Herre, véd du, hvad du gjorde

Language: Danish (Dansk)

Our translations: FRE

VALDEMAR
 Herre, véd du, hvad du gjorde.
 Da du Tove fra mig tog?
 Véd du, at det var mit sidste
 Fristed, hvorfra du mig jog?
 Herre, rødmer du ej af Skam,
 Det var den Fattiges eneste Lam !
 Herre, jeg er ogsaa Hersker,
 Jeg har lært paa Kongestol,
 Man fra sine Undersaatter
 Ta'r ej sidste Glimt af Sol.
 Herre, du er paa vilse Vej,
 Saadan vel knuser, men hersker man ej !
 Herre, dine Englehære
 Fylde Øret dig med Lov,
 Ingen Ven du har, der dadler,
 Naar du Dadel har Behov.
 Ak, og ingen er altid klar,
 Herre, lad mig derfor være din Nar!

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with J. P. Jacobsen Udvalgte Digte, Gyldendalske Boghandel, Nordisk Vorlag, Kjøbenhavn og Kristiana, 1919

Text Authorship:

by Jens Peter Jacobsen (1847 - 1885), no title, appears in Gurresange, no. 7 [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):

[ None yet in the database ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Robert Franz Arnold (originally Levisohn) (1872 - 1938) ; composed by Arnold Franz Walter Schoenberg.

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

FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2013-08-14
Line count: 19
Word count: 102

Seigneur, savais‑tu ce que tu faisais

Language: French (Français) after the Danish (Dansk)

VALDEMAR
 Seigneur, savais-tu ce que tu faisais
 en me prenant Tove ?
 Savais-tu  que c'était mon dernier
 Refuge d'où tu m'as chassé ?
 Seigneur, tu devrais rougir de honte,
 C'était l'unique agneau du pauvre !
 Seigneur Dieu, je suis aussi un souverain,
 J'ai appris sur le trône
 que l'on ne doit pas ravir à ses sujets
 le moindre rayon de soleil.
 Tu es sur la mauvais voie,
 Celle d'un tyran, pas d'un souverain !
 Seigneur, la cohorte de tes anges
 Emplit ton oreille de louanges,
 Tu n'as pas d'ami pour te blâmer
 Quand tu mérites des réprimandes.
 Et, hélas, personne n'est toujours parfait.
 Alors, Seigneur, laisse-moi être ton bouffon !

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

Translation from Danish (Dansk) to French (Français) copyright © 2013 by Pierre Mathé, (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 Danish (Dansk) by Jens Peter Jacobsen (1847 - 1885), no title, appears in Gurresange, no. 7
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2013-08-14
Line count: 19
Word count: 105