Do you ask, sweet enemy

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by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

Demandes‑tu, douce ennemie

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Demandes-tu, douce ennemie,
Quelle est pour toy ma pauvre vie ?
Helas certainement elle est
Telle qu’ordonner te la plaist.
 
Pauvre, chetive, et langoureuse,
Dolente, triste, malheureuse,
Et tout le plus fascheux esmoy
D’amour fascheux loge chez moy.
 
Apres demandes-tu, ma mie,
Quels compagnie a ma vie ?
Certes accompagnée elle est
De tels compaignons qu’il te plaist.
 
Ennuy, travail, peine, tristesse,
Larmes, souspirs, sanglots, destresse,
Et tout le plus fascheux soucy
D’amour fascheux y loge aussy.

Voyla comment par toy, Marie,
Je traine ma chetive vie,
Heureux du mal que je reçoy
Pour t’aimer cent fois plus que moy.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• A. Bertrand

View text with all available footnotes

Text Authorship:

by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585) [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 Anthoine de Bertrand (1540? - 1581?), "Demandes-tu, douce ennemie", published 1578 [ vocal quartet a cappella ], from 25 Chansons à 4 parties, Livre 3, no. 17 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Nicholas La Grotte , "Demandes-tu, douce ennemie" [sung text checked 1 time]
by Philippe de Monte (1521 - 1603), "Demandes-tu, douce ennemie" [sung text checked 1 time]

Set in a modified version by Jean Langlais, Emanuel Moór.

Go to the text. [ view differences ]

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: David Wyatt

This text was added to the website: 2014-10-27
Line count: 20
Word count: 98

Do you ask, sweet enemy

Language: English after the French (Français)

Do you ask, sweet enemy,
What sort of wretched life I lead for you?
Alas it is certainly the kind
That it would please you to arrange.
 
Poor, wretched, languid,
Plaintive, sad, unhappy,
And all the most tiresome troubles
Of tiresome love live in me.

Next do you ask, my sweet,
What companions my life has?
Truly it is accompanied 
By the kind of companions which would please you.
 
Anxiety, struggle, pain, sadness,
Tears, sighs, sobs, distress,
And all the most tiresome cares
Of tiresome love live there too.
 
That is how because of you, Marie,
I lead my wretched life,
Happy in the ills I receive
For loving you a hundred times more than myself.

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Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2014 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.
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Based on:

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

This text was added to the website: 2014-10-27
Line count: 20
Word count: 116