This love
Jacques Prevert
This love
so violent
so fragile
So tender
So desperate
This love
Beautiful as the day
And bad as the weather
When the weather is bad
This love so true
This love so beautiful
So happy
So happy
And so ridiculous
Trembling in fear like a child in the dark
And so sure of himself
Like a quiet man in the middle of the night
This love that scared others
who made them talk
who made them blush
This watched love
Because we were watching
hunted wounded trampled completed denied forgotten
'Cause we tracked it hurt trampled finished denied forgotten
This whole love
So alive still
And all sunny
It's yours
It's mine
The one who was
This thing always new
And who has not changed
As real as a plant
As trembling as a bird
As hot as alive as summer
We can both
Go and come back
We can forget
And then we go back to sleep
Waking up suffering getting old
Fall asleep again
dream of death
Waking up smiling and laughing
And rejuvenate
Our love stays there
Stubborn as a donkey
Living like desire
Cruel as memory
Stupid like regrets
Tender like memory
cold as marble
Beautiful as the day
Fragile as a child
He looks at us smiling
And he speaks to us without saying anything
And I listen trembling
And I scream
I scream for you
I scream for me
I beg you
For you for me and for all those who love each other
And who loved each other
Yes I shout to him
For you for me and for everyone else
That I do not know
Stay here
There where you are
Where you once were
Stay here
Not moving
Do not go
We who are loved
We forgot you
You don't forget us
We only had you on earth
Don't let us get cold
Always much further
And anywhere
Give us a sign of life
Much later at the corner of a wood
In the memory forest
Suddenly appear
reach out to us
And save us.
This poem explores the paradoxical and tumultuous nature of love. The speaker describes love as simultaneously "violent" and "fragile," "true" and "deceptive." The poem reflects the emotional upheavals and contradictions of romantic relationships, shifting between expressions of intense passion and vulnerability.
Compared to the author's other works, "Cet Amour" aligns with Prévert's themes of love, societal constraints, and the brevity of existence. However, it stands apart in its raw and desperate tone, expressing a profound fear of losing love.
Within the context of its time period, "Cet Amour" captures the post-war disillusionment and existential anxiety of mid-twentieth-century France. The poem's fragmented structure and abrupt shifts in imagery mirror the fractured and uncertain world that emerged after the war, emphasizing the vulnerability and fragility of human connection.
Jacques Prevert
French poet and screenwriter (b. 4 February 1900 – 11 April 1977). His poems are often about life in Paris and life after the Second World War. Prevert's style is also known by some as the 'paper tablecloth' form of poetry. They are widely taught in schools in France and frequently appear in French language textbooks throughout the world. Some of Prévert's poems, such as 'Les Feuilles mortes' ('Autumn Leaves'), were set to music by Joseph Kosma, Germaine Tailleferre of Les Six, Christiane Verger and Hanns Eisler, and were also sung by prominent 20th century French vocalists including Yves Montand and Édith Piaf as well as by the American singer Joan Baez. The British remix DJs Coldcut released their own version in 1993.
Cet amour
Si violent
Si fragile
Si tendre
Si désespéré
Cet amour
Beau comme le jour
Et mauvais comme le temps
Quand le temps est mauvais
Cet amour si vrai
Cet amour si beau
Si heureux
Si joyeux
Et si dérisoire
Tremblant de peur comme un enfant dans le noir
Et si sûr de lui
Comme un homme tranquille au milieu de la nuit
Cet amour qui faisait peur aux autres
Qui les faisait parler
Qui les faisait blêmir
Cet amour guetté
Parce que nous le guettions
Traqué blessé piétiné achevé nié oublié
Parce que nous l’avons traqué blessé piétiné achevé nié oublié
Cet amour tout entier
Si vivant encore
Et tout ensoleillé
C’est le tien
C’est le mien
Celui qui a été
Cette chose toujours nouvelle
Et qui n’a pas changé
Aussi vrai qu’une plante
Aussi tremblante qu’un oiseau
Aussi chaude aussi vivant que l’été
Nous pouvons tous les deux
Aller et revenir
Nous pouvons oublier
Et puis nous rendormir
Nous réveiller souffrir vieillir
Nous endormir encore
Rêver à la mort,
Nous éveiller sourire et rire
Et rajeunir
Notre amour reste là
Têtu comme une bourrique
Vivant comme le désir
Cruel comme la mémoire
Bête comme les regrets
Tendre comme le souvenir
Froid comme le marbre
Beau comme le jour
Fragile comme un enfant
Il nous regarde en souriant
Et il nous parle sans rien dire
Et moi je l’écoute en tremblant
Et je crie
Je crie pour toi
Je crie pour moi
Je te supplie
Pour toi pour moi et pour tous ceux qui s’aiment
Et qui se sont aimés
Oui je lui crie
Pour toi pour moi et pour tous les autres
Que je ne connais pas
Reste là
Lá où tu es
Lá où tu étais autrefois
Reste là
Ne bouge pas
Ne t’en va pas
Nous qui nous sommes aimés
Nous t’avons oublié
Toi ne nous oublie pas
Nous n’avions que toi sur la terre
Ne nous laisse pas devenir froids
Beaucoup plus loin toujours
Et n’importe où
Donne-nous signe de vie
Beaucoup plus tard au coin d’un bois
Dans la forêt de la mémoire
Surgis soudain
Tends-nous la main
Et sauve-nous.
이 사랑
이 사랑
이토록 격렬하고
이토록 연약하고
이토록 부드럽고
이토록 절망하는
이 사랑
대낮처럼 아름답고
나쁜 날씨에는
날씨처럼 나쁜
이토록 진실한 이 사랑
이토록 아름다운 이 사랑
이토록 행복하고
이토록 즐겁고
이토록 보잘 것 없고
어둠 속의 어린애처럼 무서움에 떨 때엔
이토록 자신 있는 이 사랑
한밤에도 침착한 어른처럼
다른 이들을 두렵게 하고
다른 이들을 말하게 하고
다른 이들을 질리게 하던 이 사랑
우리가 숨어서 지켜 보았기에
쫓기고 상처 받고 짓밟히고 살해되었던
염탐 당한 이 사랑은
우리가 그를 쫓고 상처 입히고 짓밟고 죽이고 부정하고 잊어버렸기 때문에
이 사랑의 전부는
아직 이토록 생생하고
이토록 빛나니
이것은 너의 사랑
이것은 나의 사랑
누구의 것이었든
언제나 새로웠고
한번도 변함없던 그것은
한 포기 풀처럼 진실하고
한 마리 새처럼 가녀리고
여름처럼 뜨겁고 생명에 차
우린 둘이 서로
오고 갈 수 있고
우린 잊을 수 있고
우린 또 잠들 수 있고
우린 잠에서 깨어 고통을 겪으며 늙을 수 있고
우린 다시 잠들어
죽음을 꿈꾸고
우린 눈을 떠 미소 짓고 웃음을 터뜨리고
다시 젊어질 수 있지만
우리들 사랑은 거기 그대로
바보처럼 고집스럽게
욕망처럼 피어 오르며
기억처럼 잔인하게
회한처럼 어리석게
추억처럼 부드럽게
대리석처럼 싸늘하게
대낮처럼 아름답게
어린애처럼 연약하게
미소 지으며 우리를 바라본다
아무 말 없이도 우리에게 말한다
난 몸을 떨며 귀를 기울인다
난 외친다
너를 위해 외친다
나를 위해 외친다
난 네게 애원한다
너를 위해 나를 위해 서로 사랑하는 모든 이를 위해
서로 사랑했던 모든 이를 위해
그래 난 그들에게 외친다
너를 위해 나를 위해
내가 모르는 다른 모든 이를 위해
거기에 앉아다오
네가 있는 거기에
네가 있었던 거기에
거기에 있어다오
움직이지 말아다오
사랑 받은 우린
너를 잊었지만
넌 우리를 잊지 말아다오
우리에겐 세상에 오직 너뿐
우리를 싸늘히 식도록 내버리지 말아다오
아주 먼 곳에서라도 언제나
또 어느 곳에서든
우리에게 생명의 신호를 보내다오
아주 오랜 훗날 어느 숲 모퉁이에서
기억의 숲 속에서
문득 솟아나
우리에게 손을 내밀어
우리를 구원해다오