Be Drunk by Charles Baudelaire

Out of all the translations of Baudelaire's poem, I find this one best expresses the maxim to live life fully and with great passion.

Be Drunk by Charles Baudelaire

You have to be always drunk.
That's all there is to it—
it's the only way.
So as not to feel
the horrible burden of time
that breaks your back
and bends you to the earth,
you have to be continually drunk.

But on what?
Wine, poetry or virtue, as you wish.
But be drunk.

And if sometimes, on the steps of a palace
or the green grass of a ditch,
in the mournful solitude of your room,
you wake again,
drunkenness already diminishing or gone, a
sk the wind, the wave, the star, the bird, the clock,
everything that is flying,
everything that is groaning,
everything that is rolling,
everything that is singing,
everything that is speaking. . .
ask what time it is
and wind, wave, star, bird, clock will answer you:
"It is time to be drunk!
So as not to be the martyred slaves of time, be drunk, be continually drunk!
On wine, on poetry or on virtue as you wish."



Enivrez-Vous Charles Baudelaire

Il faut être toujours ivre.
Tout est là:
c'est l'unique question.
Pour ne pas sentir
l'horrible fardeau du Temps
qui brise vos épaules
et vous penche vers la terre,
il faut vous enivrer sans trêve.
Mais de quoi?
De vin, de poésie, ou de vertu, à votre guise.
Mais enivrez-vous.
Et si quelquefois,
sur les marches d'un palais,
sur l'herbe verte d'un fossé,
dans la solitude morne de votre chambre,
vous vous réveillez,
l'ivresse déjà diminuée ou disparue,
demandez au vent,
à la vague,
à l'étoile,
à l'oiseau,
à l'horloge,
à tout ce qui fuit,
à tout ce qui gémit,
à tout ce qui roule,
à tout ce qui chante,
à tout ce qui parle,
demandez quelle heure il est;
et le vent,
la vague,
l'étoile,
l'oiseau,
l'horloge,
vous répondront:
"Il est l'heure de s'enivrer!
Pour n'être pas les esclaves martyrisés du Temps,
enivrez-vous;
enivrez-vous sans cesse!
De vin, de poésie ou de vertu, à votre guise."

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• Drunken
• Charles Baudelaire
• Charles
• Baudelaire
• French
• poet
• poem
• poetry
• reading
• life
• alive
• meaning
• Enivrez-vous

[starving4]

I awoke this morning needing something to obsess about.Something to really feel passionate about! This poem immediately came to mind,and I stumbled upon your reading.Your voice sounds like EA to me, an artist whom I truly admire and feel I understand.What a nice bonus to hear the poem in such a way!Thank you for sharing!

[AntiqueThings]

@starving4

Sorry to have give a late response to such a touching comment. I love this poem, and I'm glad you enjoyed my reading of it. I have to admit I'm not sure which artist you mean. The first EA who popped into my head was Emilie Autumn, but I haven't listened to much of her speaking. Thank you again for leaving a lovely comment.

[user8624]

By far this is the best reading of the poem i have found

[AntiqueThings]

@user8624

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Idlinfarm]

I like this. I can be drunk on poetry, especially T. S. Eliot----but others, too Thank you for this. Can you read it in French, too?

[AntiqueThings]

@Idlinfarm

I know what you mean about being drunk on poetry. Once I start reading works, it can be hard to stop. I may read this poem in French, but I'll need to muster up my courage first.

[AntiqueThings]

@Poemsapennyeach

Thank you so much.

[Poemsapennyeach]

Nicely read...