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by René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907)
Translation © by Peter Low
S'asseoir tous deux au bord d'un flot...
Language: French (Français)
S'asseoir tous deux au bord [d'un]1 flot qui passe, Le voir passer ; Tous deux, s'il glisse un nuage en l'espace, Le voir glisser ; À l'horizon, s'il fume un toit de chaume, Le voir fumer ; Aux alentours si quelque fleur embaume, S'en embaumer ; Si quelque fruit, où les abeilles goûtent, Tente, y goûter ; Si quelque oiseau, dans les bois qui l'écoutent, Chante, écouter... Entendre au pied du saule où l'eau murmure L'eau murmurer ; Ne pas sentir, tant que ce rêve dure, Le temps durer ; Mais n'apportant de passion profonde Qu'à s'adorer, Sans [nul]2 souci des querelles du monde, Les ignorer ; Et seuls, [heureux]3 devant tout ce qui [lasse]4, Sans se lasser, Sentir l'amour, devant tout ce qui passe, Ne point passer !
G. Fauré sets lines 1-8, 13-24
P. Viardot sets lines 1-8, 13-24
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Fauré: "du"
2 Viardot: "un"
3 Fauré, Sachs: "tous deux"
4 Viardot, Sachs: "passe"
Text Authorship:
- by René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907), "Au bord de l'eau", written c1872, appears in Les vaines tendresses, no. 4, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1878 [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 Salvatore Auteri-Manzocchi (1845 - 1924), "Tous deux", published [1885] [ vocal duet for soprano and mezzo-soprano with piano ], from Nouvelles Mélodies, no. 7, Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel et Fils [sung text not yet checked]
- by Léon Delafosse (1874 - 1951), "Au bord d'un flot qui passe", published 1904 [ high voice and piano ], from Six mélodies pour une ou deux voix et piano, no. 3, Paris, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
- by (François-Clément) Théodore Dubois (1837 - 1924), "Au bord de l'eau", published 1900 [ high voice and piano ], from Vaines Tendresses, 6 poésies de Sully-Prudhomme, no. 3, Paris, Éd. Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924), "Au Bord de l'eau", op. 8 no. 1 (1875), published 1877, first performed 1878, lines 1-8,13-24 [ voice and piano ], listen to Benoît Rivillon's spoken-text overlay (a useful tool for students) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Edmond Hippeau (1849 - 1921), "Ceux qui aiment", subtitle: "Au bord de l'eau", op. 74, published [1903] [ vocal duet for soprano and tenor with piano ], Paris, Éd. E. Fromont [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jenő Hubay (1858 - 1937), "Au bord de l'eau", op. 17 (Cinq mélodies) no. 4, published 1890 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Catherine d'Ollone, née Catherine de Pontière (1882 - 1954), "Au bord de l'eau", published 1925? [ low voice and piano ], Éd. Maurice Senart (Salabert) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Émile Paladilhe (1844 - 1926), "Au bord de l'eau", 1885 [ vocal duet for soprano and mezzo-soprano with piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Léo Sachs (1856 - 1930), "Au bord de l'eau", op. 118 (<<1909) [ high voice and piano ], from Douze mélodies, no. 1, Éd. L. Grus [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jeff Smallman (b. 1965), "Au bord de l'eau", published 2003 [ high voice and piano ], from Tableaux éternels, no. 5, Hensall, Ontario (Canada), Lighthouse Music Publications [sung text not yet checked]
- by Georges Taconet (1889 - 1962), "Au bord de l'eau", op. 40 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Viardot (1857 - 1941), "Au bord de l'eau", published 1887, lines 1-8,13-24 [ high voice and piano ], from Six mélodies, poésies de T. Gautier, M. Carré, Sully Prudhomme et M. Bouchor, no. 4, Paris, Henri Heugel [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "Au bord de l'eau", published 1887?8 [ voice and piano ], London: Pitt and Hatzfeld [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Peter Low) , no title, copyright © 2000, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Nele Gramß) , "Am Ufer", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Enrico Magnani) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Mercedes Vivas) , "Al borde del agua", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (José Miguel Llata) , "Al borde del agua", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Elisa Rapado) , "Al borde del agua", copyright © 2020, (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: 24
Word count: 121
To sit together beside the passing...
Language: English after the French (Français)
To sit together beside the passing stream
and watch it pass;
if a cloud glides by in the sky,
together to watch it glide;
if a thatched house sends up smoke on the horizon,
to watch it smoke;
if a flower spreads fragrance nearby,
to take on its fragrance;
if a fruit which the bees are tasting
looks sweet, to taste it too;
if a bird in the listening woods
sings, to open our ears;
under the willow where the water murmurs,
to listen to it murmuring;
for the time that this dream endures,
not to feel its duration;
but, having no deep passion
except adoration for one another,
without concern for the world's quarrels,
to ignore them;
and alone together, in the face of all wearying things,
unwearyingly,
to feel love (unlike all things that pass away)
not passing away!
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of title "Au bord de l'eau" = "At the water's edge"Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2000 by Peter Low, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907), "Au bord de l'eau", written c1872, appears in Les vaines tendresses, no. 4, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1878
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 141