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by Ferdinand Lemaire (1832 - 1879)

Tristesse
Language: French (Français) 
De tristesse amère et profonde 
Mon âme est prise sans raison;
Je cherche en vain sur quoi se fonde
Mon noir chagrin hors de saison.

Pourquoi faut-il que de ce monde 
Mesurant l'étroit horizon,
Mon âme touhours vagabonde
Se heurte aux murs de sa prison?

Dans les chemins qu'elle se fraie
La nuit qui l'entoure l'effraie,
Et chaque pas est un effort!
Hélas! Pour ce corps qu'elle habite,
Elle va toujours assez vite,
Car chaque pas mène à la mort!

Text Authorship:

  • by Ferdinand Lemaire (1832 - 1879) [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 Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "Tristesse", c1868, published 1877 [high voice and piano], Éd. Richault [
     text verified 1 time
    ]

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: 80

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