Stories from the Exile
Words, music and arrangements by Vincent Lockhart
Words, music and arrangements by Vincent Lockhart
Père Claude de Bailliencourt
(1916-1992)
(1916-1992)
Dieu de ma terre,
Dieu du ciel,
Dieu de mon frère et ma soeur
et mon coeur.
J’ai trouvé ton visage
dans la paix de la nuit,
dans la chanson
de mon peuple
au milieu de l’Afrique.
The desert wind blows
over your grave
a long way from
the Rue de Saint-Gervais.
And I know where it was you went to,
Claude de Bailliencourt,
when the journey was ended
and your eyes were closed.
Dieu de ma terre,
Dieu du ciel,
Dieu de mon frère et ma soeur
et mon coeur.
J'ai donné toute ma vie
pour l'amour de toi, mon Dieu.
J'ai donné pour ton peuple
des enfants jusqu'aux vieux.
I met you for a moment
but I saw your life.
"These are the dreams," you said,
"for which we give our lives".
"Courage, mon frère," you said to me,
"do not be afraid
for the road it is worth taking
and the joy will be to serve".
Background
Père Claude de Baillencourt was born and brought up in Paris and was a priest of the Society of African Missions.
For most of his priestly life he lived and worked in the north of Burkina Faso in West Africa.