Le Pont Mirabeau Poem by Guillaume Apollinaire with English Translation | French Poem with English Translation Part 102

Le Pont Mirabeau

Sous le pont Mirabeau coule la Seine

Et nos amours
Faut-il qu’il m’en souvienne
La joie venait toujours après la peine

Refrain :

Vienne la nuit sonne l’heure
Les jours s’en vont je demeure

Les mains dans les mains restons face à face

Tandis que sous
Le pont de nos bras passe
Des éternels regards l’onde si lasse

Refrain :

Vienne la nuit sonne l’heure

Les jours s’en vont je demeure

L’amour s’en va comme cette eau courante

L’amour s’en va
Comme la vie est lente
Et comme l’Espérance est violente

Refrain :

Vienne la nuit sonne l’heure

Les jours s’en vont je demeure

Passent les jours et passent les semaines

Ni temps passé
Ni les amours reviennent
Sous le pont Mirabeau coule la Seine

Refrain :

Vienne la nuit sonne l’heure

Les jours s’en vont je demeure

Stanza 1: (Word's meaning for each Stanza at the End of the Post)

Sous le pont Mirabeau coule la Seine

Under the Mirabeau Bridge flows the Seine

The Seine, a river central to Parisian life, becomes a symbol of the passage of time and the inevitability of change. The bridge represents a place of reflection, both physical and emotional.

Et nos amours

And our love

The poet begins to reminisce about a past love, linking it to this specific location, which serves as a metaphorical anchor for memory.

Faut-il qu’il m’en souvienne

Must I remember it?

The rhetorical question expresses both the pain and the inevitability of recalling love that has ended.

La joie venait toujours après la peine

Joy always followed pain

This line reflects a cyclical view of life, where happiness is transient and always preceded or followed by sorrow. It suggests that the poet has experienced both in this relationship.

Refrain:

Vienne la nuit sonne l’heure

Let the night come, let the hour strike

Time is personified, emphasizing its relentless march forward. "Sonne l'heure" evokes the tolling of a clock, a reminder of mortality and impermanence.

Les jours s’en vont je demeure

The days go by, I remain

This haunting line captures the poet's sense of isolation amidst the passage of time. The world moves on, but the poet feels stuck, burdened by his memories.

Stanza 2:

Les mains dans les mains restons face à face

Hand in hand, let us remain face to face

The poet recalls a moment of intimacy and connection, evoking a vivid image of two lovers deeply engaged with one another.

Tandis que sous

While beneath

This introduces the contrasting flow of the river, symbolizing the passage of time even during moments of stillness.

Le pont de nos bras passe

The bridge of our arms passes

The "bridge of our arms" is a metaphor for their embrace, linking the physical bridge above the Seine to their emotional connection.

Des éternels regards l’onde si lasse

The wave so weary of eternal gazes

The river (or time itself) is personified as tired, perhaps weary of witnessing countless fleeting human relationships.

Refrain:

Repeated as before. The repetition underscores the poem's cyclical theme, mirroring the inevitability of time and loss.

Stanza 3:

L’amour s’en va comme cette eau courante

Love goes away like this flowing water

The transient nature of love is likened to the river’s flow, a poignant metaphor for its fleeting and unstoppable movement.

L’amour s’en va

Love goes away

The brevity here emphasizes the inevitability of love’s end, creating a sense of finality.

Comme la vie est lente

How slow life is

This line contrasts with the rapid flow of love, suggesting that time drags on painfully in the aftermath of love’s departure.

Et comme l’Espérance est violente

And how violent Hope is

Hope is personified as "violent," reflecting its emotional turmoil—perhaps a desperate longing for reconciliation or for something that cannot be reclaimed.

Refrain:

Repeated again. Its regularity mirrors the tolling of time, unchanging and indifferent to human suffering.

Stanza 4:

Passent les jours et passent les semaines

Days go by, and weeks go by

This line emphasizes the relentless progression of time, underlining the poet’s sense of helplessness.

Ni temps passé

Neither time gone

The poet laments that past moments cannot be recaptured, reinforcing the theme of irretrievable loss.

Ni les amours reviennent

Nor does love return

Just as time flows irreversibly, so too does love, which once lost, cannot be revived.

Sous le pont Mirabeau coule la Seine

Under the Mirabeau Bridge flows the Seine

The poem circles back to its beginning, reinforcing its cyclical nature. The river continues to flow, indifferent to the poet’s sorrow.

Overall Themes and Interpretation:

Time and Transience: The river Seine symbolizes the passage of time, which flows unceasingly and carries away both joy and sorrow.
Love and Loss: The poem reflects on a lost love, capturing the deep emotional scars it leaves behind.
Memory and Reflection: The bridge becomes a physical and metaphorical space for the poet to reflect on his past.
Inevitability: The repetitive refrain underscores the inevitability of time and loss, highlighting the poet's struggle to cope.

Each word is accompanied by its English meaning:

French Word	Meaning in English	French Word	Meaning in English	French Word	Meaning in English
Sous	Under	Pont	Bridge	Mirabeau	Mirabeau (Proper noun)
Coule	Flows	Seine	Seine (River)	Amours	Love (plural)
Souviens	Remember	Joie	Joy	Peine	Sorrow/Pain
Vienne	Comes	Nuit	Night	Sonne	Strikes (as in a clock)
Heure	Hour	Jours	Days	S’en vont	Go away/Pass
Demeure	Remain	Mains	Hands	Face	Face
Tandis	While	Sous	Beneath	L’éternels	Eternal
Onde	Wave	Lasse	Weary	Amour	Love
Courante	Flowing	Espérance	Hope	Violente	Violent/Turbulent
Passent	Pass	Temps	Time	Reviennent	Return