I hope and fear | I hope and fear, I'm silent, I beg

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

J'espère et crain

(Sung text for setting by P. Certon)

See original

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

J'espere et crain, je me tais et supplye.
Or’ je suis glace et ores un feu chaut.
J'admire tout et de rien ne me chaut.
Je me delace et puis je me relie.

Rien ne me plaist, sinon ce qui m'ennuie :
Je suis vaillant et le coeur me defaut.
J'ay l'espoir bas, j'ay le courage haut,
Je doute Amour, et si je le deffie.

Plus je me pique, et plus je suis retif.
J'ayme estre libre et veux estre captif.
Cent fois je meurs, cent fois je pren naissance.

Un Promethée en passions je suis.
Et pour aymer perdant toute puissance
Ne pouvant rien je fay ce que je puis..

Composition:

Pierre Certon

Text Authorship:

by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

See other settings of this text.

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , "I hope and fear", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 110

I hope and fear

(Sung text translation for setting by P. Certon)

See original

Language: English after the French (Français)

I hope and fear, I'm silent, I beg;
Now I'm like ice, now like hot fire;
I'm amazed at everything, and care for nothing;
I relax, and then get tense again

Nothing pleases me, except what bores me;
I'm courageous and my heart fails me;
I have no hope, I have high hopes;
I doubt Love, and even so I defy him.

The more I'm goaded, the more stubborn I get;
I love to be free, and want to be imprisoned;
I die again & again, again & again I'm reborn.

I'm like a Prometheus in my suffering
And, for love, from losing all strength
Just cannot cry 'enough'.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2012 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)
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

This text was added to the website: 2012-05-18
Line count: 14
Word count: 113