Nous nous aimerons tant (We Will Love Each Other So Much): Francis Jammes and Lili Boulanger

Resounding Verse

Francis Jammes's poem depicts two lovers who sit on a bench, alone together under the shade of overhanging branches. But it's not clear if the scene is real or imaginary. In her setting of the text, Lili Boulanger heightens the poem's sense of mystery—and also the poetic speaker's anxiety that the blissful moment may only be a figment of his imagination.
You can find the score to Boulanger's song here.
The episode features the a recording of the song by tenor Nicholas Phan and pianist Myra Huang, from their CD Clairières: Songs by Lili and Nadia Boulanger.
Learn more about Boulanger's songs, access her scores, and hear another performance by Phan and Huang on my website Art Song Augmented, an online forum devoted to songs by underrepresented composers.
Nous nous aimerons tant
by Francis Jammes
Nous nous aimerons tant que nous tairons nos mots,
en nous tendant la main, quand nous nous reverrons.
Vous serez ombragée par d'anciens rameaux
sur le banc que je sais où nous nous assoirons.
Donc nous nous assoirons sur ce banc, tous deux seuls.
D'un long moment, ô mon amie, vous n'oserez...
Que vous me serrez douce et que je tremblerai...
We will love each other so much that we won't speak
but just stretch out our hands to each other when we see each other again.
You will be in the shadow of ancient branches,
on the bench where I know we will sit.
So we'll sit on that bench, alone together.
For a long moment, o my sweetheart, you won't dare...
How sweet you will be to me, and how I will tremble...