by
François Villon (1431 - 1463)
Je cognoys approcher ma soef
Language: Middle French
Je cognoys approcher ma soef,
Je crache, blanc comme cotton,
Jacobins aussi gros qu'ung œf.
Qu'est ce à dire ? Quoy ? Jehanneton
Plus ne me tiens pour valeton ;
Mais pour ung vieil usé roquart.
De vieil, porte voix et le ton,
Et ne suys q'ung jeune coquart.
Available sung texts: (what is this?)
• R. Laparra About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotes
Confirmed with J.-H.-R. Prompsault, ed., Oeuvres de maistre François Villon Paris: Béthune, 1832, page 157.
Text Authorship:
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Researcher for this page: Grant Hicks
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2026-07-08
Line count: 8
Word count: 52
I can feel my thirst coming on
Language: English after the Middle French
I can feel my thirst coming on,
I spit, white as cotton,
Gobs of phlegm the size of an egg.
What's there to say? What? Dear Jeanne,
Don't think of me any longer as a young man,
But as an old, worn-out geezer.
I have an old man's voice and tone,
And yet I'm just a young dandy.
Available sung text translations: ← What is this?
• R. Laparra About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotes
Translations of titles:
"Je cognoys approcher ma soef" = "I can feel my thirst coming on"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Middle French to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (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.
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Based on:
Go to the general view
This text was added to the website: 2026-07-08
Line count: 8
Word count: 64
