it sounds better in French
Here's a poem by Rene-Francois Sully-Prudhomme (how's that for a name?), that was set by Gabriel Faure. It's a popular art song for young college singers to do on recitals, etc., and I studied it at Iowa. For some reason, my voice lends itself toward singing in French. (?) It's been running through my head today. Anyway, it's quite beautiful, though it loses much in the translation.
Ici Bas
Ici-bas tous les lilas meurent,
Tous les chants des oiseaux sont courts,
Je rêve aux étés qui demeurent Toujours!
Ici-bas les lèvres effleurent
Sans rien laisser de leur velours,
Je rêve aux baisers qui demeurent toujours!
Ici-bas, tous les hommes pleurent
Leurs amitiés ou leurs amours;
Je rêve aux couples qui demeurent toujours!
(translation)
Down Here (or Here on Earth)
Down here, all the lilacs die
All the songs of the birds are short,
I dream of summers that last forever!
Down here, the lips touch,
leaving nothing of their velvet
I dream of kisses that last forever!
Down here, all men mourn
lost friendships or lost loves;
I dream of couples that last forever!
posted by Kim @ 9:13 AM
5 Comments:
a beautiful voice deserves a beautiful language to express itself in.
some japanese guy said his idea of hell would be endless summer of cherry blossoms.. seeing them all the time, he'd forget how special they are.
But notice the poet seems to speak against those who "mourn lost friendships or lost loves". To me, it sounded like he was complaining about people talking about their little dramas, beginning and starting things left and right. I interpreted the theme more as a conflict between the dreamer/idealist and those around him, who don't have the same vision as he, than a conflict between the temporal and the eternal.
Oh I'm lying. What's so bad about things that last forever? Cherry blossoms, not so much. Hell would be youth that lasted forever. But some things are worth keeping. Goddamnit people some things are sacred!!!*
*ironic blasphemy intended
It seems I could go forever either way.. to be completely free from the constraints of time, to be able to revel in things I enjoy without worry of them ever coming to an end, to not feel the crush of death and not stress what I as an individual am compelled to accomplish before that inevitable defeat.. yeah i wish for all these every damn day of my life.
But on the other hand, how much more of my life would I have left to slip by unappreciated, unnoticed without feeling the presence of an end? (this works both ways, honestly.. time wasted or each smaller action not suited to design seems that much greater a sin to me...) I can feel the scorn of the idealist looking down on those who mourn the past, but it's the same internal fire that can power a steam engine, driving me to better things rather than letting it consume me. I think I'm straying, here.
Some things are worth keeping, but they're not ours to hold onto or give away. I guess they wouldn't be so sacred if we could!
That which is sacred does need our protection though, our care and feeding. That which is sacred gives us sustenance, but it cannot exist without us (maybe. I’m still working on that one). I think the way you approach sacred things depends on the way you view the world. When you look at life from the standpoint of an individual only, preserving that which is sacred doesn’t seem that important – after all, as Anonymous Blogposter No. 2 says, it is not yours to keep or save. But if you allow it to be destroyed, or at the least, obscured, you prevent those around you, and those who will come after you, from experiencing it. If you look at the world from they eyes of larger community, the sacred does have the potential to live eternally.
When MLK said he had a dream that someday “little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers”, he didn’t mean that he just fondly imagined this happening. He worked every day of his life to make it a reality. Not to get too corny here, but when my friend Denise and I ride in the car together, quoting song lyrics back and forth, with a shared experience that goes back to the days we played together in kindergarten, sometimes I think of that dream, one that many believed could never come true.
“I dream of couples that last forever.” Is it possible? Is it not possible, one of the destructive fairy tales we tell little girls? Who knows? I’m putting my money down. Maybe I’ll lose the bet. Who cares? I’m expendable. I don’t last forever anyway. Love, I’m wagering, can.
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