When you are good and old, in the evening by candlelight

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

Quand vous serez bien vieille, au soir à...

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG GER GER

Quand vous serez bien vieille, au soir à la chandelle,
Assise aupres du feu, devidant et filant,
Direz, chantant mes vers, en vous esmerveillant,
Ronsard me celebroit du temps que j'estois belle.

Lors vous n'aurez servante oyant telle nouvelle,
Desja sous le labeur à demy sommeillant,
Qui au bruit de Ronsard ne s'aille resveillant,
Benissant vostre nom de louange immortelle.

Je seray sous la terre, et fantaume sans os :
Par les ombres Myrtheux je prendray mon repos.
Vous serez au fouyer une vieille accroupie,

Regrettant mon amour, et vostre fier desdain.
Vivez, si m'en croyez, n'attendez à demain :
Cueillez dés aujourd'huy les roses de la vie.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• L. Gouvy • G. Huberti • M. Swithinbank

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes

See also Yeats' free adaptation, When you are old.

Modernized form of text used by Huberti and Swithinbank:

Quand vous serez bien vieille, au soir à la chandelle, Assise auprès du feu, dévidant et filant, Direz, chantant mes vers, [en]

Text Authorship:

by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), no title, appears in Le Second Livre des Sonnets pour Hélène, no. 24 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Go to the general view

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-06-03
Line count: 14
Word count: 107

When you are good and old, in the...

NOTE: the footnotes have been removed from this text; return to general view

Language: English after the French (Français)

When you are good and old, in the evening by candlelight
Sat near the fire, carding and spinning,
You will say as you sing my poems while marvelling
"Ronsard made me famous at the time when I was beautiful."

Then you'll have just one servant to hear this news,
Already half-asleep at her task,
Who at the sound of 'Ronsard' will suddenly wake
Congratulating you for this immortal praise.

I shall be beneath the earth, a bloodless ghost;
Among the shadows of myrtle I shall take my rest.
You will be old and bent over the hearth,

Regretful for my love and your proud scorn of it.
So live, if you believe me, don't wait for tomorrow;
Pluck life's roses today!

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2012 by David Wyatt, (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), no title, appears in Le Second Livre des Sonnets pour Hélène, no. 24
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general view

This text was added to the website: 2012-07-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 124