by Maurice Maeterlinck (1862 - 1949)
Lassitude
Language: French (Français)
Our translations: ENG
Ils ne savent plus où se poser ces baisers, Ces lèvres sur des yeux aveugles et glacés; Désormais endormis en leur songe superbe, Ils regardent rêveurs comme des chiens dans l'herbe, La foule des brebis grises à l'horizon, Brouter le clair de lune épars sur le gazon. Aux caresses du ciel, vague comme leur vie, Indifférent et sans une flamme d'envie Pour ces roses de joie écloses sous leurs pas; Et ce long calme vert qu'ils ne comprennent pas.
Text Authorship:
- by Maurice Maeterlinck (1862 - 1949), "Lassitude", appears in Serres chaudes, Paris, Éd. Léon Vanier, first published 1889 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ernest Amédée Chausson (1855 - 1899), "Lassitude", op. 24 no. 3 (1893) [ medium voice and piano ], from Serres Chaudes, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Thomas Oboe Lee (b. 1945), "Lassitude", 2020 [ soprano and piano ], from Chansons de Maeterlinck, no. 3, SMP Press [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carlos López Buchardo (1881 - 1948), "Lassitude", 1915, first performed 1915 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sophie Huet) , "Lassitude", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 10
Word count: 79