Le faune
French source:
Paul Verlaine
Rit au centre des boulingrins,
Présageant sans doute une suite
Mauvaise à ces instants sereins
Qui m’ont conduit et t’ont conduite,
—Mélancoliques pèlerins,—
Jusqu’à cette heure dont la fuite
Tournoie au son des tambourins.
The faun
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
Laughs in the middle of the lawns,
Predicting no doubt an unhappy
Sequel to these moments of calm
That have led both you and me
—melancholy pilgrims—
To this hour that flits away,
Twirling to the tambourines.
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of A French Song Companion (Oxford, 2000)
Le faune
French source:
Paul Verlaine
The faun
English source:
Richard Stokes
Un vieux faune de terre cuite
An ancient terracotta faun
Rit au centre des boulingrins,
Laughs in the middle of the lawns,
Présageant sans doute une suite
Predicting no doubt an unhappy
Mauvaise à ces instants sereins
Sequel to these moments of calm
Qui m’ont conduit et t’ont conduite,
That have led both you and me
—Mélancoliques pèlerins,—
—melancholy pilgrims—
Jusqu’à cette heure dont la fuite
To this hour that flits away,
Tournoie au son des tambourins.
Twirling to the tambourines.
Composer
Claude Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Please click…
Poet
Paul Verlaine
Paul-Marie Verlaine was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the fin de siècle in international and French poetry. Born in Metz, Verlaine was educated at the Lycée Impérial…