Wanting, my sweet other half

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by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

Voulant, ô ma douce moitié

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Voulant, ô ma douce moitié,
T'assurer que mon amitié
Ne se verra jamais finie,
Je fis, pour t'en assurer mieux
Un serment juré par mes yeux
Et par mon cœur et par ma vie.

Tu jures ce qui n'est à toi ;
Ton cœur et tes yeux sont à moi
D'une promesse irrévocable,
Ce médis-tu. Hélas ! au moins
Reçoit mes larmes pour témoins
Que ma parole est véritable !

Alors, Belle, tu me baisas,
Et doucement désattisas
Mon feu, d'un gracieux visage :
Puis tu fis signe de ton œil,
Que tu recevais bien mon deuil
Et mes larmes pour témoignage.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), "Chanson" [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 Guido Spinetti (1850 - 1931), "Voulant, ô ma douce moitié", published 1897 [ medium voice and piano ], from Treize poésies de Ronsard, mises en musique par Guido Spinetti, et ornées par Lucien Métivet de vignettes modernes dans le goût ancien, préface de Francisque Sarcey, no. 9, Paris, Éd. Flammarion [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: 2018-12-06
Line count: 18
Word count: 98

Wanting, my sweet other half

Language: English after the French (Français)

Wanting, my sweet other half,
To assure you that my love
Would never come to an end,
I made to better assure you of it
A vow sworn on my eyes
And my heart and my life.
 
But you swore by what you don’t have :
Your heart and eyes are mine
By an irrevocable promise -
You lied about that. Alas, then at least
Accept my tears as witness
That my word is truthful.
 
Then, my fair one, you kissed me
And sweetly un-kindled
My fire with your gracious face;
And then you made me a sign with your eye
That you indeed accepted my grief
And my tears as a witness.

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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), "Chanson"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2019-10-30
Line count: 18
Word count: 111