Je me suis embarqué
French source:
Jean de la Ville de Mirmont
Et roule bord sur bord et tangue et se balance.
Mes pieds ont oublié la terre et ses chemins;
Les vagues souples m’ont appris d’autres cadences
Plus belles que le rythme las des chants humains.
À vivre parmi vous, hélas! avais-je une âme?
Mes frères, j’ai souffert sur tous vos continents.
Je ne veux que la mer, je ne veux que le vent
Pour me bercer, comme un enfant, au creux des lames.
Hors du port qui n’est plus qu’une image effacée,
Les larmes du départ ne brûlent plus mes yeux.
Je ne me souviens pas de mes derniers adieux ...
Ô ma peine, ma peine, où vous ai-je laissée?
I have embarked
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
And rolls and pitches and rocks.
My feet have forgotten the land and its ways;
The lithe waves have taught me other rhythms,
Lovelier than the tired ones of human song.
Ah! did I have the heart to live among you?
Brothers, on all your continents I’ve suffered.
I want only the sea, I want only the wind
To cradle me like a child in the trough of the waves.
Far from the port, now but a faded image,
Tears of parting no longer sting my eyes.
I can no longer recall my final farewells …
O my sorrow, my sorrow, where have I left you?
Translations by Richard Stokes, from A French Song Companion (Oxford, 2000)
Je me suis embarqué
French source:
Jean de la Ville de Mirmont
I have embarked
English source:
Richard Stokes
Je me suis embarqué sur un vaisseau qui danse
I have embarked on a ship that reels
Et roule bord sur bord et tangue et se balance.
And rolls and pitches and rocks.
Mes pieds ont oublié la terre et ses chemins;
My feet have forgotten the land and its ways;
Les vagues souples m’ont appris d’autres cadences
The lithe waves have taught me other rhythms,
Plus belles que le rythme las des chants humains.
Lovelier than the tired ones of human song.
À vivre parmi vous, hélas! avais-je une âme?
Ah! did I have the heart to live among you?
Mes frères, j’ai souffert sur tous vos continents.
Brothers, on all your continents I’ve suffered.
Je ne veux que la mer, je ne veux que le vent
I want only the sea, I want only the wind
Pour me bercer, comme un enfant, au creux des lames.
To cradle me like a child in the trough of the waves.
Hors du port qui n’est plus qu’une image effacée,
Far from the port, now but a faded image,
Les larmes du départ ne brûlent plus mes yeux.
Tears of parting no longer sting my eyes.
Je ne me souviens pas de mes derniers adieux ...
I can no longer recall my final farewells …
Ô ma peine, ma peine, où vous ai-je laissée?
O my sorrow, my sorrow, where have I left you?
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
Jean de la Ville de Mirmont
ean de La Ville de Mirmont was a French poet who died at the age of 27 defending his country during World War I, at Verneuil. Jean de La Ville de Mirmont was born into a Protestant Bordeaux family to Henri and Sophie Malan. He was one of six…