Poor Jeannette | LiederNet

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by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (1755 - 1794)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Pauvre Jeannette

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

   Pauvre Jeannette,
Qui chantoit si bien,
      Lalirette,
   Triste et seulette,
Tu ne dis plus rien.
   Las ! je soupire
Loin de mon ami :
   Ne sais rien dire
A d'autres qu'à lui.

   Jeune [et]¹ fillette,
Ne peux-tu changer ?
      Lalirette :
   Crois-moi, Jeannette,
Choisis un berger.
   Le roi lui-même
Auroit un refus ;
   Du jour qu'on aime
On ne choisit plus.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• F. Mendelssohn

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian, Nouvelles nouvelles, Paris: L'Imprimerie de Didot l'aîné, 1792, Page 89.

¹ omitted by Mendelssohn.

Text Authorship:

by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (1755 - 1794), no title, appears in Claudine [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 Fanny Hensel (1805 - 1847), "Romance de Claudine", H-U 5 (1820) [ medium voice and piano ], from Frühe Französische Lieder, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by Charles-Léon Hess (1844 - 1926), "Vieille chanson", published 1878-1879 [ voice and piano ], in Journal du Musique [sung text not yet checked]
by Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847), "Pauvre Jeanette", c1820 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2010-07-27
Line count: 18
Word count: 58

Poor Jeannette

Language: English after the French (Français)

  "Poor [Jeannette]¹,
Who sang so well,
      Tralala,
   Sad and all alone,
You no longer say anything."
   "Alas! I am pining
Far from my sweetheart:
   I can't say anything 
To anyone but him."

   "Young little girl,
Can't you make a change?
      Tralala:
   Believe me, [Jeannette]¹,
Choose a shepherd."
   "The king himself 
I would turn away;
   Once one falls in love
One no longer has a choice."

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Translations of titles:
"Pauvre Jeanette" = "Poor Jeanette"
"Romance de Claudine" = "Claudine's Romance "
"Vieille chanson" = "Old Song "

¹ Mendelssohn: "Jeanette"

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 by Grant Hicks, (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 Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (1755 - 1794), no title, appears in Claudine
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-11-24
Line count: 18
Word count: 70