I wish that, in the rich yellow | I wish that, in the rich yellow

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by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

Je voudroy bien richement jaunissant

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Je voudroy bien richement jaunissant
En pluye d’or goute à goute descendre
Dans le giron de ma belle Cassandre,
Lors qu'en ses yeux le somne va glissant.

Puis je voudroy en toreau blanchissant
Me transformer pour sur mon dos la prendre,
Quand en Avril par l'herbe la plus tendre
Seule, à l'ecart, mille fleurs ravissant.

Je voudroy bien pour alleger ma peine,
Estre un Narcisse et elle une fontaine,
Pour m'y plonger une nuict à sejour :

Et si voudroy que ceste nuict encore
Fust eternelle, et que jamais l'Aurore
Pour m’esveiller ne rallumast le jour.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• G. Boni

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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), "Je voudroy bien richement jaunissant", published 1608 [ vocal quartet ], from Sonnets de Pierre de Ronsard mis en musique à 4 parties, I, no. 5, Paris, Pierre Ballard [sung text checked 1 time]
by Robert Caby (1905 - 1992), "Je voudrais bien, richement jaunissant", 1956 [ mixed chorus and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
by (Rudolf) Walther Hirschberg (1889 - 1960), "À Cassandre" [ high voice and piano ], from 12 Mélodies, no. 11 [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , "I wish that, in the rich yellow", 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: 95

I wish that, in the rich yellow

Language: English after the French (Français)

I wish that, in the rich yellow
Of a rain of gold, I could fall drop by drop
Into the lap of my fair Cassandre,
As sleep slips over her eyes.

And then I wish that I could transform myself
Into a white bull, to take her on my back
When in April she walks in the softest, newest grass
Alone, at a distance, stealing a thousand flowers..

I wish that, to lessen my pain,
I could be a Narcissus and she a fountain,
So that I could dive in one night to stay :

And so I wish that night were indeed
Eternal, and that Dawn would never
Bring back the daylight to wake me.

View text with all available footnotes

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.
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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: 115