Not long after Duparc wrote this song, he began suffering from a neurasthenic disorder, which was given as the primary reason he abandoned composition in 1885. The malady may have had psychological roots, but even if it was purely physical, this fanatically self-critical composer might well have needed little reason to give up composition anyway. In any event, his few surviving works attest to his great talent, this song in particular. Here, though Duparc used a text by a lesser poet (Armand Silvestre [1837-1901]), he managed to fashion an arrestingly inspired creation from it. The piano (or orchestra) opens the work with anxious tremolos to set the dark and haunting atmosphere of the song. The main theme struggles to reach high, then higher, before receding to sweeten its anxious manner, but only briefly. It cannot dispel the sense of unease and builds to a shattering climax midway through, and immediately builds again for another and final outburst, this one less resolute, less powerful. Thereafter, the vocal line yields to the accompaniment, wherein the music slowly fades. This three-minute song about lost love is certainly one of the composer's gems.

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