Kingsbrae 8.4
8 June 2017
Le Pont Mirabeau
(click for French original)
The Seine flows down beneath Mirabeau Bridge
and so does our love
must I be reminded yet again
that happiness always follows pain
Let night descend let the hours sound
the days go by but I’m still around
Hand in hand let us stay here face to face
while beneath the bridge of our arms
our gazes interlock
like river waves flowing
Let night descend let the hours sound
the days go by but I’m still around
Love flows away like these flowing waves
love flows away
how slowly life passes
and hope is so brutal
Let night descend let the hours sound
the days go by but I’m still around
Days flow by and weeks flow by
nor times past nor former loves
come back again
under Mirabeau Bridge flows the Seine
Let night descend let the hours sound
the days go by but I’m still around
Comment: I spent the school year in Paris in 1962-1963 and I have always wanted to translate Le Pont Mirabeau from French into English. Today, I found both the time and energy to do so. It’s not a great translation, but it is mine. Click on one of the links above to get the French original.
Love your translation! Maybe this is why some lovers propose on the bridge. It is symbolic of letting all the past float under the bridge never to be brought back again!!
I’ve always loved the poem. There’s something about it that intrigues me. So glad I finally translated it. From memory originally, then I checked the French.
It was always a romantic bridge, and people went there just to be where Appolinaire was when he wrote the poem. He was one of the last great recitable French poets. I learned chunks of his verse for the fun of it.