Serenade | If I were, o my love

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by Gabriel Marc (1840 - 1901)

Translation © by Ahmed E. Ismail

Sérénade

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: DUT ENG

Si j'étais, ô mon amoureuse,
La brise au souffle parfumé,
Pour frôler ta bouche rieuse,
Je viendrais craintif et charmé.

Si j'étais l'abeille qui vole,
Ou le papillon séducteur,
Tu ne me verrais pas, frivole,
Te quitter pour une autre fleur.

Si j'étais la rose charmante
Que ta main place sur ton coeur,
Si près de toi toute tremblante
Je me fanerais de bonheur.

Mais en vain je cherche à te plaire,
J'ai beau gémir et soupirer.
Je suis homme, et que puis-je faire? -
T'aimer... Te le dire ... Et pleurer!

Text Authorship:

by Gabriel Marc (1840 - 1901), "Sérénade", written 1868, appears in Soleils d'Octobre, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1869 [author's text not yet checked 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 Henri Duparc (1848 - 1933), "Sérénade", op. 2 (5 Mélodies) no. 2 (1869) [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Marike Lindhout) , "Serenade", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Ahmed E. Ismail) , "Serenade", copyright © 2004, (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: 16
Word count: 90

Serenade

Language: English after the French (Français)

If I were, o my love,
The breeze of a perfumed breath
Brushing against your cheerful mouth
I would become timid and charmed.

If I were the bee that flew,
Or the seductive butterfly,
You would not see me, frivolous,
Leave you for another flower.

If I were the charming rose
Which your hand placed on your heart
So near to you, all trembling,
I would faint with happiness.

But in vain I seek to please you.
I quite moan and sigh.
I am a man, and what can I do?
Love you . . . tell you so . . . and cry!

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2004 by Ahmed E. Ismail, (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 Gabriel Marc (1840 - 1901), "Sérénade", written 1868, appears in Soleils d'Octobre, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1869
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2004-05-08
Line count: 16
Word count: 104