I am a man born to die | I am a man born to die

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by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by Faith J. Cormier

Je suis homme nè pour mourir

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

  Je suis homme nè pour mourir,
Je suis bien seur que du trespas
Je ne me sçaurois secourir
Que poudre je n'aille là-bas.
  Je cognois bien les ans que j'ay,
Mais ceus qui me doibvent venir,
Bons ou mauvais, je ne les sçay,
Ny quand mon age doit finir.

  Pource fuyés vous-en, esmoy,
Qui rongés mon coeur à tous cous,
Fuyés vous-en bien loing de moy,
Je n'ay que fair' avecques vous.  
  Au moins avant que trespasser,
Que je [paisse]¹ à mon ais' un jour
Jouer, sauter, rir', et dancer,
Avecque Bacchus, et Amour.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• J. Castro

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Note: this poem, in imitation of Anacreon, is grouped below Εις εαυτον in Anacréon et les Poèmes anacréontiques, ed. by Achille Delboulle, Havre, Lemale et Cie, 1891, pages 79-80.

¹ Castro: "puis"

Text Authorship:

by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), "Imitation d'Anacreon", ode. [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Jean de Castro (c1540 - c1600), "Je suis homme nè pour mourir" [sung text checked 1 time]
by Judith Cloud (1954 - 2023), "Je suis homme, né pour mourir" [ baritone or mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Quatre mélodies de Ronsard, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "I am a man born to die", copyright © 2000, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 96

I am a man born to die

Language: English after the French (Français)

I am a man born to die.
I am certain that
I cannot save myself from death,
from descending into death.
Well I know the years I have had,
but those that are to come,
good or bad, I do not know,
nor when my age shall end.

Flee, confusion
that gnaws at my heart at all costs.
Flee far from me.
I have nothing to do with you,
unless, before I die,
some day I may 
play and jump, laugh and dance,
with Bacchus and Love.

Note: this is a translation of Castro's version.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2000 by Faith J. Cormier, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), "Imitation d'Anacreon", ode.
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 87