Text & Translation
Enfant, si j'étais roi
French source:
Victor Hugo
Et mon char, et mon sceptre, et mon peuple à genoux,
Et ma couronne d’or, et mes bains de porphyre,
Et mes flottes, à qui la mer ne peut suffire,
Pour un regard de vous!
Si j’étais Dieu, la terre et l’air avec les ondes,
Les anges, les démons courbés devant ma loi,
Et le profond chaos aux entrailles fécondes,
L’éternité, l’espace et les cieux et les mondes,
Pour un baiser de toi!
Child, if I were king
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
And my chariot and my sceptre and my prostrate people,
And my golden crown and my porphyry baths,
And my fleets that the ocean cannot contain,
For a single look from you!
If I were God, I’d give the earth and the air and the waves,
The angels, the devils, bowed before my law,
And the fertile womb of profound chaos,
Eternity, space, and the heavens and the worlds,
For a single kiss from you!
Enfant, si j'étais roi
French source:
Victor Hugo
Child, if I were king
English source:
Richard Stokes
Enfant, si j’étais roi, je donnerais l’empire,
Child, if I were king, I’d give my realm,
Et mon char, et mon sceptre, et mon peuple à genoux,
And my chariot and my sceptre and my prostrate people,
Et ma couronne d’or, et mes bains de porphyre,
And my golden crown and my porphyry baths,
Et mes flottes, à qui la mer ne peut suffire,
And my fleets that the ocean cannot contain,
Pour un regard de vous!
For a single look from you!
Si j’étais Dieu, la terre et l’air avec les ondes,
If I were God, I’d give the earth and the air and the waves,
Les anges, les démons courbés devant ma loi,
The angels, the devils, bowed before my law,
Et le profond chaos aux entrailles fécondes,
And the fertile womb of profound chaos,
L’éternité, l’espace et les cieux et les mondes,
Eternity, space, and the heavens and the worlds,
Pour un baiser de toi!
For a single kiss from you!
Composer
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, music teacher, arranger and organist of the Romantic era. He was also a writer, a philanthropist, a Hungarian nationalist and a Franciscan…
Poet
Victor Hugo
Victor Marie Hugo was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. He is considered one of the greatest and best-known French writers. In France, Hugo's literary fame comes first from his poetry and then from his novels and his…