Songs

Le serpent

by Francis Poulenc

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Text & Translation

Le serpent
source: Guillaume Apollinaire

Tu t’acharnes sur la beauté.
Et quelles femmes ont été
Victimes de ta cruauté!
Ève, Eurydice, Cléopâtre;
J’en connais encor trois ou quatre.

The serpent
English translation © Richard Stokes

You latch on to beauty.
And what women have fallen
Victim to your cruelty!
Eve, Euridice, Cleopatra;
And I know of three or four others.

Le serpent
source: Guillaume Apollinaire

The serpent
English source: Richard Stokes

Tu t’acharnes sur la beauté.
You latch on to beauty.
Et quelles femmes ont été
And what women have fallen
Victimes de ta cruauté!
Victim to your cruelty!
Ève, Eurydice, Cléopâtre;
Eve, Euridice, Cleopatra;
J’en connais encor trois ou quatre.
And I know of three or four others.

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

Guillaume Apollinaire

Guillaume Apollinaire  (26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish-Belarusian descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the early 20th century, as…

Performances

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