The long sobs of the violins of autumn meaning

Poem by Paul Verlaine

This article is about the poem by Paul Verlaine. For the albums, see Autumn Song (Mose Allison album) and Autumn Song (Mannheim Steamroller album).

"Chanson d'automne" ("Autumn Song") is a poem by Paul Verlaine (–), one of the best known in the French language.

It is included in Verlaine's first collection, Poèmes saturniens, published in (see in poetry). The poem forms part of the "Paysages tristes" ("Sad landscapes") section of the collection.^[1]

In World War II lines from the poem were used to send messages from Special Operations Executive (SOE) to the French Resistance about the timing of the forthcoming Invasion of Normandy.

Paul verlaine poems The inquiry resulted in a reprimand, without any other consequences. Second retour et premiers adieux [ modifier modifier le code ]. A great contemporary version is the one by Stacey Kent in But when, alas, embittered people.

Content

French	English translation
Les sanglots longs Des violons De l'automne Blessent mon cœur D'une langueur Monotone. Tout suffocant Et blême, quand Sonne l'heure, Je me souviens Des jours anciens Et je pleure; Et je m'en vais Au vent mauvais Qui m'emporte Deçà, delà, Pareil à la Feuille morte.	The long sobs Of violins Of autumn Wound my heart With a monotonous Languor. All breathless And pale, when The hour sounds, I remember The old days And I cry; And I go In the ill wind That carries me Here, there, Like the Dead leaf.

Critical analysis

The poem uses several stylistic devices and is in many ways typical of Verlaine, in that it employs sound techniques such as consonance (the repetition of "n" and "r" sounds) that also creates an onomatopoeic effect, sounding both monotonous and like a violin.^[2] In the second verse, the stop consonant and pause after the word suffocant reflect the meaning of the word.

At the age of 22, Verlaine uses the symbolism of autumn in the poem to describe a sad view of growing old.

Use in World War II

In preparation for Operation Overlord, the BBC's Radio Londres signalled to the French Resistance with the opening lines of the Verlaine poem "Chanson d'Automne" to indicate the start of D-Day operations under the command of the Special Operations Executive.

The first three lines of the poem, "Les sanglots longs / des violons / de l'automne" ("The long sobs of autumn's violins"), would mean that Operation Overlord was to start within two weeks.

Matthew 1:1 As with many of his greatest songs, his was not the first recording of the song: before he released it himself, he gave the song to Lucienne Boyer:. Read Edit View history. Adaptation in songs [ edit ]. Tools Tools.

These lines were broadcast on 1 June The next set of lines, "Blessent mon coeur / d'une langueur / monotone" ("wound my heart with a monotonous languor"), meant that it would start within 48 hours and that the resistance should begin sabotage operations, especially on the French railroad system; these lines were broadcast on 5 June at ^[3][4][5][6]

Adaptation in songs

In Charles Trenet made changes to the words of the poem in order to change it into a song.

There has been speculation that it was the popularity of his version that led to the use of the poem by SOE.^[7]

A later French singer, Serge Gainsbourg, uses parts of the poem in the lyrics of his song "Je suis venu te dire que je m'en vais" ("I've come here to tell you that I am leaving").

The poem was also set to music by French-American artist Laurent de Kiev on his "De Musset à Sardou" album in ^[8]

See also

References

External links