Absence
French source:
Théophile Gautier
Comme une fleur loin du soleil,
La fleur de ma vie est fermée
Loin de ton sourire vermeil!
Entre nos cœurs quelle distance!
Tant d’espace entre nos baisers!
Ô sort amer! ô dure absence!
Ô grands désirs inapaisés!
Reviens, reviens, ma bien-aimée.
Comme une fleur loin du soleil,
La fleur de ma vie est fermée
Loin de ton sourire vermeil!
D’ici là-bas, que de campagnes,
Que de villes et de hameaux,
Que de vallons et de montagnes,
À lasser le pied des chevaux.
Reviens, reviens, ma bien-aimée.
Comme une fleur loin du soleil,
La fleur de ma vie est fermée
Loin de ton sourire vermeil!
Absence
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Like a flower far from the sun,
The flower of my life is closed
Far from your crimson smile!
Such a distance between our hearts!
So great a gulf between our kisses!
O bitter fate! O harsh absence!
O great unassuaged desires!
Return, return, my sweetest love!
Like a flower far from the sun,
The flower of my life is closed
Far from your crimson smile!
So many intervening plains,
So many towns and hamlets,
So many valleys and mountains
To weary the horses’ hooves.
Return, return, my sweetest love!
Like a flower far from the sun,
The flower of my life is closed
Far from your crimson smile!
Translations by Richard Stokes, from A French Song Companion (Oxford, 2000)
Absence
French source:
Théophile Gautier
Absence
English source:
Richard Stokes
Reviens, reviens, ma bien-aimée;
Return, return, my sweetest love!
Comme une fleur loin du soleil,
Like a flower far from the sun,
La fleur de ma vie est fermée
The flower of my life is closed
Loin de ton sourire vermeil!
Far from your crimson smile!
Entre nos cœurs quelle distance!
Such a distance between our hearts!
Tant d’espace entre nos baisers!
So great a gulf between our kisses!
Ô sort amer! ô dure absence!
O bitter fate! O harsh absence!
Ô grands désirs inapaisés!
O great unassuaged desires!
Reviens, reviens, ma bien-aimée.
Return, return, my sweetest love!
Comme une fleur loin du soleil,
Like a flower far from the sun,
La fleur de ma vie est fermée
The flower of my life is closed
Loin de ton sourire vermeil!
Far from your crimson smile!
D’ici là-bas, que de campagnes,
So many intervening plains,
Que de villes et de hameaux,
So many towns and hamlets,
Que de vallons et de montagnes,
So many valleys and mountains
À lasser le pied des chevaux.
To weary the horses’ hooves.
Reviens, reviens, ma bien-aimée.
Return, return, my sweetest love!
Comme une fleur loin du soleil,
Like a flower far from the sun,
La fleur de ma vie est fermée
The flower of my life is closed
Loin de ton sourire vermeil!
Far from your crimson smile!
Composer
Hector Berlioz
Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic composer. His output includes orchestral works such as the Symphonie fantastique and Harold in Italy, choral pieces including the Requiem and L'Enfance du Christ, his three…
Poet
Théophile Gautier
Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While Gautier was an ardent defender of Romanticism, his work is difficult to classify and remains a point of reference for many…