Against heaven my heart was in revolt | Against heaven my heart was in revolt

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by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

Contre le Ciel mon cœur estoit rebelle

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Contre le Ciel mon cœur estoit rebelle, 
Quand le Destin, que forcer je ne puis, 
Me fit revoir la dame à qui je suis, 
Ains que vestir ceste escorce nouvelle.
 
Un chaud adonc de moëlle en moëlle, 
De nerfs en nerfs, de conduits en conduits 
Brusla mon cœur, dont j’ay vescu depuis 
Ore en plaisir, ore en peine cruelle. 

Si qu’en voyant ses beautez, et combien 
Elle est divine, il me ressouvint bien 
L’avoir jadis en Paradis laissée : 

Car dés le jour que j’en re-fu blessé, 
Soit près ou loin, je n’ay jamais cessé 
De l’adorer de fait ou de pensée.

About the headline (FAQ)

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 Guillaume Boni (c1530 - c1594), "Contre le ciel mon cœur estoit rebelle", published 1608 [vocal quartet], from the collection Sonnets de Pierre de Ronsard mis en musique à 4 parties, I, no. 31, Paris, Pierre Ballard [
text not verified
]

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , title 1: "Against heaven my heart was in revolt", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: David Wyatt

This text was added to the website: 2015-02-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 102

Against heaven my heart was in revolt

Language: English after the French (Français)

Against heaven my heart was in revolt
When Fate, which I cannot compel,
Led me again to see that lady whose I am,
And to put on this new form.¹

Heat thus running around my marrow,
My nerves and veins
Burned my body, and I have since lived
Now in pleasure, now in cruel pain;

So that, seeing her beauty and how divine
She is, I recalled 
Having left her of old in Paradise.

And since the day when I was again wounded,
Be she near or far, I’ve never ceased
To adore her in deed or thought.

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Translator's note: As in line 11, Ronsard implies a reincarnation or re-birth, coming from Paradise back to earth.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2015 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
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2015-02-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 98