Venise
Language: French (Français) after the French (Français)
Our translations: ENG SPA
Dans Venise la rouge,
Pas un bateau qui bouge,
Pas un pêcheur dans l'eau,
Pas un falot.
La lune qui s'efface
Couvre son front qui passe
D'un nuage étoilé
Demi-voilé.
Tout se tait, fors les gardes
Aux longues hallebardes,
Qui veillent aux créneaux
Des arsenaux.
Ah! maintenant plus d'une
Attend, au clair de lune,
Quelque jeune muguet,
L'oreille au guet.
Sous la brise amoureuse
La Vanina rêveuse,
Dans son berceau flottant
Passe en chantant;
Tandis que pour la fête
Narcissa qui s'apprête,
Met devant son miroir
Le masque noir.
Laissons la vieille horloge
Au palais du vieux doge
Lui compter de ses nuits
Les longs ennuis.
Sur sa mer nonchalante,
Venise indolente
Ne compte ni ses jours
Ni ses amours.
Car Venise est si belle
Qu'une chaîne sur elle
Semble un collier jeté
Sur la beauté.
Note: Gounod's setting uses Musset's stanzas 1,5,9-10, two stanzas that appear related to stanzas 12 and 13, stanza 15 of Musset's poem, and then two more stanzas of uncertain origin.
The text shown is a variant of another text. [ View differences ]
It is based on
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Set in a modified version by Marcial del Adalid, Benjamin Louis Paul Godard, Walther Hirschberg, Charles Malherbe, Hippolyte Monpou, Georges Villain.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "Venice", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (José Miguel Llata) , "Venecia", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2013-04-18
Line count: 36
Word count: 136
Venice
Language: English after the French (Français)
Not a boat is stirring
in red Venice,
not a fisherman is on the water,
not a light appears.
The fading moon
half-veils her brow
with a cloud
sewn with stars.
All is still, except for the guards
with their long halberds
keeping watch on the ramparts
of the arsenals.
Oh! Now more than one lady
listens anxiously
in the moonlight
for some young gallant.
Under the loving breeze,
dreamy Vanina passes,
singing,
in her floating cradle,
while Narcissa readies herself
for the party,
putting on her black mask
before her mirror.
Let the old clock
in the old Doge's palace
count the long boredoms
of its nights.
On the careless sea,
lazy Venice
counts neither its days
nor its loves,
for Venice is so beautiful
that a chain around her
looks like a necklace
thrown around beauty.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2006 by Faith J. Cormier, (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.
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Based on:
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2006-01-10
Line count: 36
Word count: 138