Le pont Mirabeau
Sous le pont Mirabeau coule la Seine
Et nos amours
Faut-il qu'il m'en souvienne
La joie venait toujours après la peineVienne la nuit sonne l'heure
Les jours s'en vont je demeureLes mains dans les mains restons face à face
Tandis que sous
Le pont de nos bras passe
Des éternels regards l'onde si lasseVienne la nuit sonne l'heure
Les jours s'en vont je demeureL'amour s'en va comme cette eau courante
L'amour s'en va
Comme la vie est lente
Et comme l'Espérance est violenteVienne la nuit sonne l'heure
Les jours s'en vont je demeurePassent les jours et passent les semaines
Ni temps passé
Ni les amours reviennent
Sous le pont Mirabeau coule la SeineVienne la nuit sonne l'heure
Les jours s'en vont je demeure
Mirabeau Bridge
Translated by Richard WilburUnder the Mirabeau Bridge there flows the Seine
Must I recall
Our loves recall how then
After each sorrow joy came back againLet night come on bells end the day
The days go by me still I stayHands joined and face to face let's stay just so
While underneath
The bridge of our arms shall go
Weary of endless looks the river's flowLet night come on bells end the day
The days go by me still I stayAll love goes by as water to the sea
All love goes by
How slow life seems to me
How violent the hope of love can beLet night come on bells end the day
The days go by me still I stayThe days the weeks pass by beyond our ken
Neither time past
Nor love comes back again
Under the Mirabeau Bridge there flows the SeineLet night come on bells end the day
The days go by me still I stay
THE MIRABEAU BRIDGE
Guillaume Apollinaire trans. Peter DeanUnder the Mirabeau Bridge runs the Seine
And our love
I must bring to mind once again
That joy always came after painCometh the night chimeth the hour
The days go on I lack powerHands joined face to face each of us abides
Whilst beneath
The bridge our arms form slides
The weary water of love forever's tidesCometh the night chimeth the hour
The days go on I lack powerLove passes like this running stream
Love takes its leave
Life is a dream
And Hope a dangerous extremeCometh the night chimeth the hour
The days go on I lack powerOn go the days and on go weeks again
Not time gone by
Nor love can one regain
Under the Mirabeau Bridge runs the SeineCometh the night chimeth the hour
The days go on I lack power
MIRABEAU BRIDGE
Guillaume Apollinaire trans. James Kirkup
(tanka sequence with haiku refrain)The Seine keeps flowing
under the Mirabeau Bridge -
and our loves also -
I need to remember that
joy always follows sorrow.And when night's bell tolls
the days take their departure -
I alone remainHolding hand in hand,
let us sit face to face while
underneath the bridge
of our arms pass eternal
gazings on such weary waves.And when nights bell tolls
the days take their departuure -
I alone remainLove is flowing fast
away, just as these flowing
waters flow away
slow as life itself flows by -
how violent Hope becomes.And when the night's bell tolls
the days take their departure -
I alone remainThe days passing by,
the weeks passing by - and yet
neither our past time
nor our loves return - under
Mirabeau Bridee flows the Seine -And when night s bell tolls
the days take their departure -
I alone remain
THE MIRABEAU BRIDGE
Guillaume Apollinaire trans. A. S. Kline
Under the Mirabeau flows the Seine
And our amours
Shall I remember it again
Joy always followed after PainComes the night sounds the hour
The days go by I endureHand in hand rest face to face
While underneath
The bridge of our arms there races
So weary a wave of eternal gazesComes the night sounds the hour
The days go by I endureLove vanishes like the water’s flow
Love vanishes
How life is slow
And how Hope lives blow by blowComes the night sounds the hour
The days go by I endureLet the hour pass the day the same
Time past returns
Nor love again
Under the Mirabeau flows the SeineComes the night sounds the hour
The days go by I endur
THE PONT MIRABEAU
Guillaume Apollinaire trans. Oliver BernardUnder the Pont Mirabeau the Seine
Flows with our loves
Must I recall again?
Joy always used to follow after painLet the night come: strike the hour
The days go past while I stand hereHands holding hands let us stay face to face
While under this
Bridge our arms make slow race
Long looks in a tired wave at a wave's paceLet the night come: strike the hour
The days go past while I stand hereLove runs away like running water flows
Love flows away
But oh how slow life goes
How violent hope is nobody knowsLet the night come: strike the hour
The days go past while I stand hereThe days pass and the weeks pass but in vain
Neither time past
Nor love comes back again
Under the Pont Mirabeau flows the SeineLet the night come: strike the hour
The days go past but I stay here
Le pont Mirabeau
tr. Charles BernsteinUnder the Mirabeau bridge flows the Seine
And our love
Comes back to memory again
Where always joy came after painComes night, the hours sound
Days go round in which to drownHand in hand, face to face
While underneath
The bridge of our embrace
Eternal gazes, weary wavesComes night, the hours sound
Days go round in which to drownLove goes away like the water flows
Love goes away
Like life is slow
And like Hopefulness is violentComes night, the hours sound
Days go round in which to drownPass the days, pass the nights
Neither time past
Nor love comes back
Under the Mirabeau bridge flows the SeineComes night, the hours sound
Days go round in which to drown