Le sourire
French source:
Cécile Sauvage
Par vous est un baiser
Intime et prolongé
Comme un baiser sur l’âme.
Ma bouche veut sourire
Et mon sourire tremble.
The smile
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
By you is a kiss,
Intimate and lingering,
Like a kiss on the soul.
My mouth wishes to smile
And my smile flickers.
Translations by Richard Stokes, from A French Song Companion (Oxford, 2000)
Le sourire
French source:
Cécile Sauvage
The smile
English source:
Richard Stokes
Certain mot murmuré
A certain word whispered
Par vous est un baiser
By you is a kiss,
Intime et prolongé
Intimate and lingering,
Comme un baiser sur l’âme.
Like a kiss on the soul.
Ma bouche veut sourire
My mouth wishes to smile
Et mon sourire tremble.
And my smile flickers.
Composer
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist. He wrote music for chamber ensembles and orchestra, vocal music, as well as for solo organ and piano, and also experimented with the use of novel electronic…
