La dernière feuille
French source:
Théophile Gautier
Il ne reste plus au rameau
Qu’une pauvre feuille oubliée,
Rien qu’une feuille et qu’un oiseau.
Il ne reste plus en mon âme
Qu’un seul amour pour y chanter;
Mais le vent d’automne, qui brame,
Ne permet pas de l’écouter.
L’oiseau s’en va, la feuille tombe,
L’amour s’éteint, car c’est l’hiver.
Petit oiseau, viens sur ma tombe
Chanter quand l’arbre sera vert.
The last leaf
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Nothing remains on the branches
Except a poor forgotten leaf -
Nothing but a leaf and bird.
Nothing remains in my soul
Except a lone love singing there;
But the howling autumn wind
Will not allow it to be heard.
The bird flies away, the leaf falls,
Love dies, for winter is come.
Little bird, alight on my tomb
And sing when the tree is green again.
La dernière feuille
French source:
Théophile Gautier
The last leaf
English source:
Richard Stokes
Dans la forêt chauve et rouillée
In the bare and blighted forest
Il ne reste plus au rameau
Nothing remains on the branches
Qu’une pauvre feuille oubliée,
Except a poor forgotten leaf -
Rien qu’une feuille et qu’un oiseau.
Nothing but a leaf and bird.
Il ne reste plus en mon âme
Nothing remains in my soul
Qu’un seul amour pour y chanter;
Except a lone love singing there;
Mais le vent d’automne, qui brame,
But the howling autumn wind
Ne permet pas de l’écouter.
Will not allow it to be heard.
L’oiseau s’en va, la feuille tombe,
The bird flies away, the leaf falls,
L’amour s’éteint, car c’est l’hiver.
Love dies, for winter is come.
Petit oiseau, viens sur ma tombe
Little bird, alight on my tomb
Chanter quand l’arbre sera vert.
And sing when the tree is green again.
Composer
Ernest Chausson
Amédée-Ernest Chausson was a French romantic composer. From 1886 until his death in 1899, Chausson was secretary of the Société Nationale de Musique, met with a number of notable figures during his short lifetime, including the composers Henri…
Poet
Théophile Gautier
Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While Gautier was an ardent defender of Romanticism, his work is difficult to classify and remains a point of reference for many…