Logo
Home Contact

Debussy - Romance

Romance

Debussy (1891)

L'âme évaporée et souffrante,
L'âme douce, l'âme odorante
Des lis divins que j'ai cueillis
Dans le jardin de ta pensée,
Où donc les vents l'ont-ils chassée,
Cette âme adorable des lis?

N'est-il plus un parfum qui reste
De la suavité céleste
Des jours où tu m'enveloppais
D'une vapeur surnaturelle,
Faite d'espoir, d'amour fidèle,
De béatitude et de paix?...

Paul Bourget

Romance

 

The spent and suffering soul,
the gentle soul, the fragrant soul
of the divine lilies which I gathered
in the garden of your thought,
where then have winds driven it,
that adorable soul of the lilies?

Is there no perfume left
of the celestial sweetness
of the days when you enveloped me
in a transcendent vapour ,
of hope, of faithful love,
of beatitude and of peace?...

© translated by Christopher Goldsack

This song is included in the Singing in French vol2 anthology and a score and accompaniment can be downloaded from the site shop in several keys.

Singing in French Anthology

Buy a copy of Singing in French - volume 2:

Edition for higher voices:
Buy now button

Edition for lower voices:
Buy now button

Please be aware that some of the original French texts on this site are still in copyright. The translations are offered here for study purposes.

Students and not-for-profit events are always welcome to use the transaltions for their programmes free of charge. I am however glad to be told when they are being used! Send me an email and do share the site with friends and colleagues! If seeking to use them for commercial purposes please also consider making a small donation towards the upkeep of the site: