Amour, Amour, donne moy paix ou treve,
Ou bien retire, et d'un garrot plus fort
Tranche ma vie et m'avance la mort.
Me bienheurant d'une langeur plus breve.

Soit que la jour [se couche ou se releve]1
Je sens toujours un penser qui me mord.
[Et malheureux en si heureux effort.
Me faict la guerre, et mes peines rengrève.]2

Que doy-je faire ?  Amour me fait errer
Si hautement, que je n'ose esperer
De mon salut que la desesperance.

Puis qu'Amour donc ne me veut secourir
Pour me defendre il me plait de mourir.
Et par la mort [retrouver]3 delivrance.

A. Utendal sets lines 1-4
J. Castro sets lines 9-14

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Lassus: "ou se couche ou se leve"
² Lassus: "Et contumax au cours de son effort / De pis en pis mes angoisses rengrève."
³ Bertrand, Maletty, Lassus: "trouver ma"

Text Authorship:

• by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), no title [author's text checked 2 times 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 Anthoine de Bertrand (1540? - 1581?), "Amour, donne moy paix ou trève", 1576, published 1578, first performed 1576 [ vocal quartet a cappella ], from Les Amours de Pierre de Ronsard à 4 parties, Livre 1, no. 8 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Fabrice-Marin Caietain (flourished 1570-1578), "Amour, Amour, donne moy paix ou treve" [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Jean de Castro (c1540 - c1600), "Que dois-je faire?", lines 9-14 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Roland de Lassus (1532 - 1594), "Amour, donne moy paix ou treve" [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Jean de Maletty (flourished 16th century), "Amour, Amour, donne moy paix ou treve" [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Alexander Utendal (1543?5 - 1581), "Amour, Amour, donne moy paix ou treve", lines 1-4 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• ENG English (David Wyatt) , "Love, Love, give me peace or a truce", copyright © 2007, (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: 14
Word count: 102

Love, Love, give me peace or a truce,
Or else, throttling me harder, remove and
Cut off my life, and bring on my death,
Benefitting me with a shorter torpor.

Whether it's the beginning or the end of the day
I am always aware of a thought that devours me;
[Unfortunate in so fortunate a struggle
Is what this war makes me, and it redoubles my pains.]1
 
What must I do? Love makes me stray
So far, that I dare hope
For no safety but despair.

Since Love's gift won't come to my aid,
To defend myself, I'm pleased to die
And through death to [find deliverance]2.