the final song of the cycle has prompted much speculation. the poet, or his imaginary speaker, is much taken with the charms of an androgynous youth, but fails to persuade him to come into his – or her – house to drink wine. it is not clear whether the boy's admirer is male or female; one of ravel's colleagues expressed the strong hope that the song would be sung by a woman, as it customarily is. the song is in e major, with oscillating string motifs in the orchestral accompaniment which in rae's view are reminiscent of debussy’s "nocturnes".