Muguet: Le Temps du Muguet (Annotated French song)

[Updated 18 August, 2015]

Dear Readers: Collating different video versions, transliterating and annotating the text of each song on this blog takes a long time. If you like what I've done, please leave comments below. If I've made a mistake somewhere, or you would like more English glosses, please do let me know!

May 1st is a French holiday. On this day, all over France you can buy lilies of the valley. If you visit French-speaking friends (especially in France, Switzerland or Belgium) on this day, you should definitely offer them a sprig of lilies of the valley, a symbol of friendship. If you can't find real lilies of the valley, several French companies provide e-cards:

http://www.dromadaire.com/carte-virtuelle/1er-mai--fete-du-muguet

http://www.cybercartes.com/cartes/1er-mai

Lily of the Valley--527px-Maigloeckchen_2--CC-BY-SA, Jüppsche

Le Temps du Muguet (《鈴蘭時節》in Chinese) is a beautiful French song about lilies of the valley. It is loosely based on a Russian original (Подмосковные Вечера = Podmoskovnyje Vechera, Moscow Nights) from the 1950s. 

Here Le Temps du Muguet is sung by Francis Lemarque (with onscreen lyrics), 
the composer who wrote the French version (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca4Z2TrNHQQ):

Here is a lovely version sung (but without onscreen lyrics) by a French singer called Dorothée (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdrEgrqcPIE):

  

Below you will find two text versions of Le Temps du Muguet, followed by some glosses in English.

1) Traditional French spelling on the left, 

2) IPA on the right (to help you pronounce the words correctly; if you don't see the IPA, please install Arial Unicode TTF or a similar font on your computer) and 

3) word-for-word English glosses for lines 1-7.

	Le Temps du Muguet, Traditional spelling	Le Temps du Muguet, IPA
1	Il est revenu le temps du muguet	il ε ʁəvəny lə tɑ̃ dy mygε
	= He/It has come back the time of the ... Eng. revenue = taxes (money that comes back to the government)	muguet = lily of the valley Eng. temporary = for a short time
2	Comme un vieil ami retrouvé	kɔmɛ͂ vjεjami ʁətʁuve
	= Like an old friend found again Eng. An amicable divorce is friendly
3	Il est revenu flâner le long des quais	il ε ʁəvəny flane lə lo͂ de kε
	He has come back to stroll along	the docks (= of the Seine)
4	Jusqu´au banc où je t´attendais	ʒysko bɑ̃ u ʒə tatɑ̃dε
	He walked up to the bench Eng. attend = to wait on people	where I was waiting for you
5	Et j´ai vu refleurir	e ʒε vy ʁəflœʁiʁ
	And I saw bloom again	fleur = flower
6	L´éclat de ton sourire	lekla də to͂ suʁiʁ
	The burst of your smile
7	Aujourd´hui plus beau que jamais	oʒuʁdɥi ply bo kə ʒamε
	Today more handsome than ever	Fr. beauté = Eng. beauty
8	Le temps du muguet ne dure jamais	lə tɑ̃ dy mygε nə dyʁə ʒamε
9	Plus longtemps que le mois de mai	ply lo͂tɑ̃ kə lə mwɑ də mε
10	Quand tous ses bouquets déjà seront fanés	kɑ̃ tu se bukε deʒa səʁo͂ fane
11	Pour nous deux rien n´aura changé	puʁ nu dø ʁjε̃ nɔʁa ʃɑ̃ʒe
12	Aussi belle qu´avant	osi bεlə kavɑ͂
13	Notre chanson d´amour	nɔtʁ ʃɑ̃so͂ damuʁ
14	Chantera comme au premier jour	ʃɑ̃təʁa kɔmo pʁəmje ʒuʁ
15	Il s´en est allé le temps du muguet	il sɑ͂nεtale lə tɑ̃ dy mygε
16	Comme un vieil ami fatigué	kɔmɛ͂ vjεjami fatige
17	Pour toute une année pour se faire oublier	puʁ tutyn ane puʁ sə fεʁublije
18	En partant il nous a laissé	ɑ̃ paʁtɑ̃ il nuza lεse
19	Un peu de son printemps	ɛ͂pø də so͂ pʁε̃tɑ̃
20	Un peu de ses vingt ans	ɛ͂pø də se vε̃ ɑ̃
21	Pour s´aimer pour s´aimer longtemps.	puʁ seme puʁ seme lo͂tɑ̃.

Here is a jazz version of le temps du muguet sung by Danielle Darrieux
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXpatni7dB4):

 

The Russian original and a Chinese appear below:

Podmoskovnyje Vechera sung in Russian with the Russian words (with a space between each letter, unfortunately), a Chinese translation (in traditional characters) & even a loosely translated rhyming English version 莫斯科郊外的晚上(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itlokjXFA0c)

A very elegant version sung on Red Square in 2013 by Anna Netrebko (soprano) and Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone), accompanied by the Grand Choir "Masters of Choral Singing" (conductor Lev Kontorovich) and the State Symphony Orchestra of Russia (conductor Constantine Orbelian) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5SlUmCdXf0): 

Finally, here is a version sung entirely in Mandarin:

莫斯科郊外的晚上 - 黃紅英 Huang Hong-Ying  

深夜花园里四处静悄悄 只有风儿在轻轻唱
夜色多么好 心儿多爽朗 在这迷人的晚上
夜色多么好 心儿多爽朗 在这迷人的晚上
小河静静流微微翻波浪 水面映着银色月光
一阵清风 一阵歌声 多么幽静的晚上
一阵清风 一阵歌声 多么幽静的晚上

长夜快过去天色蒙蒙亮 衷心祝福你好姑娘
但愿从今后 你我永不忘 莫斯科郊外的晚上
但愿从今后 你我永不忘 莫斯科郊外的晚上

Which is your favorite version? Why?