Toujours
French source:
Charles Grandmougin
De fuir loin de vous pour jamais
Et de m’en aller, solitaire,
Sans me rappeler qui j’aimais!
Demandez plutôt aux étoiles
De tomber dans l’immensité,
À la nuit de perdre ses voiles,
Au jour de perdre sa clarté!
Demandez à la mer immense
De dessécher ses vastes flots
Et quand les vents sont en démence,
D’apaiser ses sombres sanglots!
Mais n’espérez pas que mon âme
S’arrache à ses âpres douleurs
Et se dépouille de sa flamme
Comme le printemps de ses fleurs!
Forever
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
To flee far from you for ever
And to go my way alone,
Forgetting whom I loved!
Rather ask the stars
To fall into infinity,
The night to lose its veils,
The day to lose its light!
Ask the boundless sea
To drain its mighty waves,
And the raging winds
To calm their dismal sobbing!
But do not expect my soul
To tear itself from bitter sorrow,
Nor to shed its passion
As springtime sheds its flowers!
Translation © Richard Stokes, author of A French Song Companion (Oxford, 2000)
Toujours
French source:
Charles Grandmougin
Forever
English source:
Richard Stokes
Vous me demandez de me taire,
You ask me to be silent,
De fuir loin de vous pour jamais
To flee far from you for ever
Et de m’en aller, solitaire,
And to go my way alone,
Sans me rappeler qui j’aimais!
Forgetting whom I loved!
Demandez plutôt aux étoiles
Rather ask the stars
De tomber dans l’immensité,
To fall into infinity,
À la nuit de perdre ses voiles,
The night to lose its veils,
Au jour de perdre sa clarté!
The day to lose its light!
Demandez à la mer immense
Ask the boundless sea
De dessécher ses vastes flots
To drain its mighty waves,
Et quand les vents sont en démence,
And the raging winds
D’apaiser ses sombres sanglots!
To calm their dismal sobbing!
Mais n’espérez pas que mon âme
But do not expect my soul
S’arrache à ses âpres douleurs
To tear itself from bitter sorrow,
Et se dépouille de sa flamme
Nor to shed its passion
Comme le printemps de ses fleurs!
As springtime sheds its flowers!
Composer
Gabriel Fauré
"Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. Among his…
Poet
Charles Grandmougin
Charles-Jean Grandmougin was a French poet and playwright. He lived in Paris. Two of his poems appeared in the third and final volume of Le Parnasse contemporain (1876). His poetry has been set as songs by composers including Fauré, Chaminade,…