Song of the Watchman | Halt! Who goes there? Sad watchman

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from Volkslieder (Folksongs)

Translation © by Faith J. Cormier

Le chant du veilleur

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Holà! Qui va là? triste veilleur,
Pauvre sentinelle, je traverse la nuit,
Le sommeil me fuit terriblement.
Suis-je donc fait de fer?

Tout le monde dort et repose en paix
Et oublie les tracas du jour.
Moi seul je cherche en vain du repos sur la pierre,
Moi, moi seul - je cherche en vain du repos sur la pierre.
Holà! Qui va là?

Text Authorship:

from Volkslieder (Folksongs) [author's text not yet checked 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 Darius Milhaud (1892 - 1974), "Le chant du veilleur", op. 86 no. 2, published 1925 [ voice and piano ], from Chants Populaires Hébraïques, no. 2, Paris, Éd. Heugel [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "Song of the Watchman", copyright © 2002, (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: 9
Word count: 63

Song of the Watchman

Language: English after the French (Français)

 Halt! Who goes there? Sad watchman, 
 poor sentinel, I move through the night.
 Sleep flees from me. 
 Am I then made of iron? 
 
 All sleep and rest in peace, 
 forgetting the day's troubles. 
 I alone search in vain for rest on the stones. 
 I, I alone, I search in vain for rest on the stones. 
 Halt! Who goes there?

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2002 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in French (Français) from Volkslieder (Folksongs)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 9
Word count: 60