English translations of Deux Mélodies, opus 9

by (Aynsley) Eugene Goossens, Sir (1893 - 1962)

1. Chanson de Fortunio  [sung text not yet checked]
by (Aynsley) Eugene Goossens, Sir (1893 - 1962), "Chanson de Fortunio", op. 9 (Deux Mélodies) no. 1 (1914), published 1917 [ voice and piano ], London, J. & W. Chester
Language: French (Français) 
Si vous croyez que je vais dire
   Qui j'ose aimer,
Je ne saurais, pour un empire,
   Vous la nommer.

Nous allons chanter à la ronde,
   Si vous voulez,
Que je l'adore et qu'elle est blonde
   Comme les blés.

Je fais ce que sa fantaisie
   Veut m'ordonner,
Et je puis, s'il lui faut ma vie,
   La lui donner.

Du mal qu'une amour ignorée
   [Nous]1 fait souffrir,
J'en porte l'âme déchirée
   Jusqu'à mourir.

Mais j'aime trop pour que je die
   Qui j'ose aimer,
Et je veux mourir pour ma mie
   Sans la nommer.

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Confirmed with Alfred de Musset, Poésies nouvelles (1836-1852), Paris, Charpentier, 1857, page 142.

First published in La revue des deux mondes, November 1, 1835, in Comédies et Proverbes, "Le Chandelier", Act II, Scene 3.

Note (provided by Garrett Medlock) for stanza 5, line 1 - "die" [sic] means "dis" here.

1 Koster: "Vous"

by Louis Charles Alfred de Musset (1810 - 1857)
1.
Language: English 
If you believe I'll tell
   With whom I'm in love,
I couldn't, for a whole empire,
   Tell you the name.

We’ll sing, while dancing in a circle,
   If you want,
That I love her, and I love that she is fair-haired
   As wheat.

I do what her fancy
   commands me to do,
And I could, if she wanted my life,
   Give it to her.

An unconfessed love causes pain which
   Makes us suffer, so
I'll carry a torn apart soul
   until my death!

But I’m too in love to reveal
   Whom I may love,
And I want to die for her love
   Without naming her.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Laura Prichard, (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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This text was added to the website: 2016-10-23
Line count: 20
Word count: 105

Translation © by Laura Prichard
2. Chanson de Barberine  [sung text not yet checked]
by (Aynsley) Eugene Goossens, Sir (1893 - 1962), "Chanson de Barberine", op. 9 (Deux Mélodies) no. 2 (1914), published 1917 [ high voice and piano ], London, J. & W. Chester
Language: French (Français) 
Beau chevalier qui partez pour la guerre,
  Qu'allez-vous faire
  [Si loin d'ici]1 ?
Voyez-vous pas que la nuit est profonde,
  Et que le monde
  N'est que souci ?

Vous qui croyez qu'une amour délaissée
  De la pensée
  S'enfuit ainsi,
Hélas ! hélas ! chercheurs de renommée,
  Votre fumée
  S'envole aussi.

[Beau chevalier qui partez pour la guerre,
  Qu'allez-vous faire
  Si loin de nous ?]2
J'en vais pleurer, moi qui me laissais dire
  Que mon sourire
  Était si doux.

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Confirmed with Alfred de Musset, Poésies nouvelles (1836-1852), Paris, Charpentier, 1857, page 141.

First published in La Quenouille de Barberine, a comedy in two acts, Éd. La Revue des Deux Mondes, 1835.

1 Koster: "Si loin d'ici de nous"; Schmitt: "Aussi loin d'ici ? loin de nous"
2 omitted by Schmitt.

by Louis Charles Alfred de Musset (1810 - 1857)
2. Handsome knight, you who leave for war
Language: English 
 Handsome knight, you who leave for war
 What will you do 
 far from here?
 Do you see that the night is deep?
 And that the world 
 is but worry?
 
 You who think that love 
 Abandoned by thought 
 flees like that.
 Alas! Alas! Seekers of fame
 Your smoke
 flies away too!
 
 Hansome knight, you who leave for war
 What will you do 
 far from us?
 It will make me cry. I who thought 
 That my smile 
 was so sweet!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © by Victoria de Menil, (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: 

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This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 78

Translation © by Victoria de Menil