Whether her golden hair curls lightly

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by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

Soit que son or se crêpe lentement

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Soit que son or se crêpe lentement
Ou soit qu'il vague en deux glissantes ondes,
Qui çà, qui là par le sein vagabondes,
Et sur le col, nagent folâtrement ;

Ou soit qu'un noeud illustré richement
De maints rubis et maintes perles rondes,
Serre les flots de ses deux tresses blondes,
Mon coeur se plaît en son contentement.

Quel plaisir est-ce, ainçois quelle merveille,
Quand ses cheveux, troussés dessus l'oreille,
D'une Vénus imitent la façon ?

Quand d'un bonnet son chef elle adonise,
Et qu'on ne sait s'elle est fille ou garçon,
Tant sa beauté en tous deux se déguise ?

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Text Authorship:

by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), no title [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 Robert Caby (1905 - 1992), "Soit que son or se crespe lentement", 1957 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Raoul Laparra (1876 - 1943), "Soit que son or se crêpe lentement", published 1925 [ low voice and piano ], from Le Missel Chantant, Suite de mélodies sur de vieilles poésies françaises - 6ème volume, no. 5, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel
Score: IMSLP [external link] [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2017-02-07
Line count: 14
Word count: 98

Whether her golden hair curls lightly

Language: English after the French (Français)

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Whether her golden [hair] curls lightly
Or whether it flows in two gliding waves,
Wandering on her breast here and there
And swimming friskily on her neck;
 
Or whether a knot, richly decorated
With many rubies and many round pearls,
Holds the stream of her twin blonde tresses,
My heart is satisfied and happy.
 
What a pleasure it is, rather what a marvel,
When her hair gathered over her ear
Imitates the look of a Venus!
 
Or when she goes like Adonis with a cap on her head,
And you can’t tell if she’s girl or boy,
Her beauty so fits both.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2019 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.
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Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), no title
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2019-10-30
Line count: 14
Word count: 102