Si mes vers avaient des ailes
French source:
Victor Hugo
Vers votre jardin si beau,
Si mes vers avaient des ailes,
Comme l’oiseau.
Ils voleraient, étincelles,
Vers votre foyer qui rit,
Si mes vers avaient des ailes,
Comme l’esprit.
Près de vous, purs et fidèles,
Ils accourraient nuit et jour,
Si mes vers avaient des ailes,
Comme l’amour.
If my verses had wings
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
To your garden so fair,
If my verses had wings,
Like a bird.
They would fly, like sparks,
To your smiling hearth,
If my verses had wings,
Like the mind.
Pure and faithful, to your side
They’d hasten night and day,
If my verses had wings,
Like love!
Translations by Richard Stokes, from A French Song Companion (Oxford, 2000)
Si mes vers avaient des ailes
French source:
Victor Hugo
If my verses had wings
English source:
Richard Stokes
Mes vers fuiraient, doux et frêles,
My verses would flee, sweet and frail,
Vers votre jardin si beau,
To your garden so fair,
Si mes vers avaient des ailes,
If my verses had wings,
Comme l’oiseau.
Like a bird.
Ils voleraient, étincelles,
They would fly, like sparks,
Vers votre foyer qui rit,
To your smiling hearth,
Si mes vers avaient des ailes,
If my verses had wings,
Comme l’esprit.
Like the mind.
Près de vous, purs et fidèles,
Pure and faithful, to your side
Ils accourraient nuit et jour,
They’d hasten night and day,
Si mes vers avaient des ailes,
If my verses had wings,
Comme l’amour.
Like love!
Composer
Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn was a French composer, conductor and music critic. He moved to France at the age of three from Venezuela. Read more here.
Poet
Victor Hugo
Victor Marie Hugo was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. He is considered one of the greatest and best-known French writers. In France, Hugo's literary fame comes first from his poetry and then from his novels and his…