Demain, dès l'aube

One of the most famous poems penned by the French poet Victor Hugo - it describes his feelings on the grave of his daughter Leopoldine. It was set to music - Demain, des l'aube It remains as intimate and haunting a portrayal of human grief as we can find in poetry. There is nothing like it before or since in French literature.

Demain, des l'aube, a l'heure ou blanchit la campagne,
Je partirai. Vois-tu, je sais que tu m'attends.
J'irai par la foret, j'irai par la montagne.
Je ne puis demeurer loin de toi plus longtemps.

Je marcherai les yeux fixes sur mes pensees,
Sans rien voir au dehors, sans entendre aucun bruit,
Seul, inconnu, le dos courbe, les mains croisees,
Triste, et le jour pour moi sera comme la nuit.

Je ne regarderai ni l'or du soir qui tombe,
Ni les voiles au loin descendant vers Harfleur,
Et quand j'arriverai, je mettrai sur ta tombe
Un bouquet de houx vert et de bruyere en fleur.


Mine would be:

At dawn, when the light shines upon the fields,
I must go! You know my duty when you see me.
Through the forest and the mountain I walk.
From you, I will truly never remain away!

What is in my thoughts shows up in my eyes
There is silence; I see nothing outside of me
I'm lonely, broken with my hands behind my back
And the day remains as sad for me as the night.

The beautiful sunset - night overtakes it for me
Around me is dark mist sweeping in from Harfleur
When I come there, I shall arrange upon your grave
To place a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers.


No translation can do this beautiful poem true justice! I hope I have captured the feel of it and the feeling it embodies is even more important than the words themselves. Its a universal one.

Wikipedia adds:

In 1978 , French singer Henri Tachan poem set to music and the performer in a untitled album . Similarly, in 1998 , the French singer Pierre Perret in his album The beast is back, like Victor Hugo, it could be a tribute to his daughter, who died in 1995 . There are a great many other adaptations: Andrea Lindsay , Pierre Bensusan , Marc Robine , the kitschy , Elijah Semoun , etc..

Great poem!! Like probably every French students I studied and learnt it at school, and it touched me by its ingenuity and its sincerity. It gives me goosebump everytime I read it. And its rythme is unique.

Your translation is great. As you say, it's personal translation but it adds a level of interpretation to the poem, giving it a new dimension.

Originally Posted by Enoo

Great poem!! Like probably every French students I studied and learnt it at school, and it touched me by its ingenuity and its sincerity. It gives me goosebump everytime I read it. And its rythme is unique.

Your translation is great. As you say, it's personal translation but it adds a level of interpretation to the poem, giving it a new dimension.

Its singable - its certainly a song composition. I felt that writing it in English like Hugo would have is very difficult. He is the greatest of French poets and it shows here.

The first line of the last verse would literally read - "I don't notice the golden sunset since its overshadowed by the night that is like the grave." It might be grammatically correct and a literally true rendering but it misses the feelings the author wanted to convey.

I replaced it with - "The beautiful sunset - night overtakes it for me" - its not what the words literally say but it captures the mood that continues right through to the final verse image. A more idiomatic expression would be - "My loss has turned my life as dark as the grave" - which would also fit the sense of the words. Hugo is saying that his joy at the beauty of the world is gone for him with the image of death that surrounds him, which is what the night represents for him.

We all have found a time in our lives when life and the world stopped for us and only our loved one found a place in our thoughts. The poem ends though on the hope that life returns in the flowers and the love they represent overshadows the grave and death.

I like the way it affirms Nature, life and love even amidst darkness, death and grief. This is why the poem will always remain relevant because this will always be a part of human nature.

Originally Posted by NormanF

The first line of the last verse would literally read - "I don't notice the golden sunset since its overshadowed by the night that is like the grave." It might be grammatically correct and a literally true rendering but it misses the feelings the author wanted to convey.

Actually it would read "I will notice neither the gold of the falling evening nor the sails which far away descend to Harfleur"