Songs

Elle est gravement gaie

by Lili Boulanger From Clairières dans le ciel (1914)

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'Elle est gravement gaie', recorded at the 2022 Spring Song Festival.


Text & Translation

View IPA

Elle est gravement gaie
French source: Francis Jammes

Elle est gravement gaie. Par moments son regard
se levait comme pour surprendre ma pensée.
Elle était douce alors comme quand il est tard
le velours jaune et bleu d’une allée de pensées.

She is solemnly cheerful
English translation © Richard Stokes

She is solemnly cheerful. At times she looked up,
as if to catch what I was thinking.
She was gentle then, like at dusk
the yellow-blue velvet of a path of pansies.

Elle est gravement gaie
French source: Francis Jammes

She is solemnly cheerful
English source: Richard Stokes

Elle est gravement gaie. Par moments son regard
She is solemnly cheerful. At times she looked up,
se levait comme pour surprendre ma pensée.
as if to catch what I was thinking.
Elle était douce alors comme quand il est tard
She was gentle then, like at dusk
le velours jaune et bleu d’une allée de pensées.
the yellow-blue velvet of a path of pansies.

Composer

Lili Boulanger

Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) is often described as one of the most gifted composers of the twentieth century, however, her promise was cut short by early death. She achieved a degree of posthumous renown which is exceptional among women…

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