Hurrah for the orgy, my friend!

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by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)

Translation © by Faith J. Cormier

Amis, vive l'orgie !

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: CHI ENG

Amis, vive l'orgie !
J'aime la folle nuit
Et la nappe rougie
Et les chants et le bruit,
Les dames peu sévères ,
Les cavaliers joyeux,
Le vin dans tous les verres,
L'amour dans tous les yeux !

  La tombe est noire,
  Les ans sont courts.
  Il faut, sans croire
  Aux sots discours,
  Très-souvent boire,
  Aimer toujours ! 

Dans la douce Italie 
Qu'éclaire un si doux ciel, 
Tout est joie et folie, 
Tout est nectar et miel.
Ayons donc à nos fêtes
Les fleurs et les beautés,
La rose sur nos têtes,
La femme à nos côtés !

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), no title, appears in Lucrèce Borgia, first published 1833 [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 Carl Banck (1809 - 1889), "Chanson à boire", op. 10 [ solo voice, chorus, and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Edouard Lalo (1823 - 1892), "Chanson à boire", op. 17 (6 Mélodies) no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , no title, copyright ©, (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: 22
Word count: 94

Hurrah for the orgy, my friend!

Language: English after the French (Français)

Hurrah for the orgy, my friend!
I love the wild night,
Loud songs without end,
The cloth red, so red to my sight,
Gay-minded lasses,
Their swains' joyful sighs,
Wine in all glasses,
Love in all eyes.

Death swallows us up
And short are our days.
With gloom do not sup,
Nor heed follish men's lays.
Be oft in your cups
And in love always!

In Italy sweet,
'Neath a tender sky,
Honey and nectar eat
With wild, joyful cry.
To our feasts shall come now
Blooms and beauty to cheer us; 
A rose for our brow,
A fair one beside us.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translation of title "Chanson à boire" = "Drinking song"

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 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) by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), no title, appears in Lucrèce Borgia, first published 1833
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 22
Word count: 102