Songs

Georges Braque

by Francis Poulenc From Le travail du peintre

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Text & Translation

Georges Braque
French source: Paul Éluard

Un oiseau s’envole,
Il rejette les nues comme un voile inutile,
Il n’a jamais craint la lumière,
Enfermé dans son vol,
Il n’a jamais eu d’ombre.

Coquilles des moissons brisées par le soleil.
Toutes les feuilles dans les bois disent oui,
Elles ne savent dire que oui,
Toute question, toute réponse
Et la rosée coule au fond de ce oui.

Un homme aux yeux légers décrit le ciel d’amour.
Il en rassemble les merveilles
Comme des feuilles dans un bois,
Comme des oiseaux dans leurs ailes
Et des hommes dans le sommeil.

A bird flies off
English translation © Richard Stokes

A bird flies off,
It discards the clouds like a useless veil,
It has never feared the light,
Enclosed in its flight
It has never had a shadow.

Sun-split husks of harvest grains.
All the forest leaves say yes,
Yes is all they know how to say,
Every question, every answer
And the dew flows in the depth of this yes.

A man with carefree eyes describes the heaven of love.
He gathers together its wonders
Like leaves in a forest,
Like birds in their wings
And men in sleep.

Georges Braque
French source: Paul Éluard

A bird flies off
English source: Richard Stokes

Un oiseau s’envole,
A bird flies off,
Il rejette les nues comme un voile inutile,
It discards the clouds like a useless veil,
Il n’a jamais craint la lumière,
It has never feared the light,
Enfermé dans son vol,
Enclosed in its flight
Il n’a jamais eu d’ombre.
It has never had a shadow.

Coquilles des moissons brisées par le soleil.
Sun-split husks of harvest grains.
Toutes les feuilles dans les bois disent oui,
All the forest leaves say yes,
Elles ne savent dire que oui,
Yes is all they know how to say,
Toute question, toute réponse
Every question, every answer
Et la rosée coule au fond de ce oui.
And the dew flows in the depth of this yes.

Un homme aux yeux légers décrit le ciel d’amour.
A man with carefree eyes describes the heaven of love.
Il en rassemble les merveilles
He gathers together its wonders
Comme des feuilles dans un bois,
Like leaves in a forest,
Comme des oiseaux dans leurs ailes
Like birds in their wings
Et des hommes dans le sommeil.
And men in sleep.

Composer

Francis Poulenc

Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (F7 January 1899 – 30 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodies, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Read the full…

Poet

Paul Éluard

Paul Éluard was a French poet and one of the founders of the surrealist movement.

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