Songs

Au bord de l'eau

by Gabriel Fauré

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Text & Translation

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Au bord de l'eau
French source: René-François Sully-Prudhomme

S’asseoir tous deux au bord d’un flot qui passe,
Le voir passer;
Tous deux, s’il glisse un nuage en l’espace,
Le voir glisser;
À l’horizon, s’il fume un toit de chaume,
Le voir fumer;
Aux alentours si quelque fleur embaume,
S’en embaumer;
Entendre au pied du saule où l’eau murmure,
L’eau murmurer;
Ne pas sentir, tant que ce rêve dure,
Le temps durer;
Mais n’apportant de passion profonde
Qu’à s’adorer,
Sans nul souci des querelles du monde,
Les ignorer;
Et seuls, tous deux devant tout ce qui lasse,
Sans se lasser,
Sentir l’amour, devant tout ce qui passe,
Ne point passer!

To sit together on the bank of a flowing stream
English translation © Richard Stokes

To sit together on the bank of a flowing stream,
To watch it flow;
Together, if a cloud glides by,
To watch it glide;
On the horizon, if smoke rises from thatch,
To watch it rise;
If nearby a flower smells sweet,
To savour its sweetness;
To listen at the foot of the willow, where water murmurs,
To the murmuring water;
Not to feel, while this dream passes,
The passing of time;
But feeling no deep passion,
Except to adore each other,
With no cares for the quarrels of the world,
To know nothing of them;
And alone together, seeing all that tires,
Not to tire of each other,
To feel that love, in the face of all that passes,
Shall never pass!

Au bord de l'eau
French source: René-François Sully-Prudhomme

To sit together on the bank of a flowing stream
English source: Richard Stokes

S’asseoir tous deux au bord d’un flot qui passe,
To sit together on the bank of a flowing stream,
Le voir passer;
To watch it flow;
Tous deux, s’il glisse un nuage en l’espace,
Together, if a cloud glides by,
Le voir glisser;
To watch it glide;
À l’horizon, s’il fume un toit de chaume,
On the horizon, if smoke rises from thatch,
Le voir fumer;
To watch it rise;
Aux alentours si quelque fleur embaume,
If nearby a flower smells sweet,
S’en embaumer;
To savour its sweetness;
Entendre au pied du saule où l’eau murmure,
To listen at the foot of the willow, where water murmurs,
L’eau murmurer;
To the murmuring water;
Ne pas sentir, tant que ce rêve dure,
Not to feel, while this dream passes,
Le temps durer;
The passing of time;
Mais n’apportant de passion profonde
But feeling no deep passion,
Qu’à s’adorer,
Except to adore each other,
Sans nul souci des querelles du monde,
With no cares for the quarrels of the world,
Les ignorer;
To know nothing of them;
Et seuls, tous deux devant tout ce qui lasse,
And alone together, seeing all that tires,
Sans se lasser,
Not to tire of each other,
Sentir l’amour, devant tout ce qui passe,
To feel that love, in the face of all that passes,
Ne point passer!
Shall never pass!

Composer

Gabriel Fauré

  ​"Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. Among his…

Poet

René-François Sully-Prudhomme

René François Armand (Sully) Prudhomme was a French poet and essayist, and was the first ever winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1901. Born in Paris, Prudhomme originally studied to be an engineer, but turned to philosophy and later to…

Performances

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