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Une jeune pucelette,
Pucelette grasselette,
Qu'esperdument j'aime mieux
Que mon cœur ny que mes yeux,
A la moitié de ma vie
Esperdument asservie
De son grasset en-bon-point ;
Mais fasché je ne suis point
D'estre serf pour l'amour d'elle,
Pour l'en-bon-point de la belle
Qu'esperdument j'aime mieux
Que mon cœur ny que mes yeux.
Las ! une autre pucelette,
Pucelette maigrelette,
Qu'esperdument j'aime mieux
Que mon cœur ny que mes yeux,
Esperdument a ravie
L'autre moitié de ma vie
De son maigret en-bon-point ;
Mais fasché je ne suis point
D'estre serf pour l'amour d'elle,
Pour la maigreur de la belle,
Qu'esperdument j'aime mieux
Que mon cœur ny que mes yeux.
Autant me plaist la grassette
Comme me plaist la maigrette,
Et l'une à son tour autant
Que l'autre me rend contant.
...
Bien, bien, laissez-le mesdire!
Deust-il tout vif crever d'ire
Et forcené se manger,
Il ne sçauroit estranger
L'amitié que je vous porte,
Tant elle est constante et forte.
Ny le temps ny son effort,
Ny violence de mort,
Ny les mutines injures,
Ny les mesdisans parjures,
Ny les outrageux brocars
De vos voisins babillars,
Ny la trop soigneuse garde
D'une cousine bavarde,
Ny le soupçon des passans,
Ny les maris menaçans,
Ny les audaces des freres,
Ny les preschemens des meres,
Ny les oncles sourcilleux,
Ny les dangers périlleux
Qui l'amour peuvent deffaire,
N'auront puissance de faire
Que tousjours je n'aime mieux
Que mon cœur ny que mes yeux
L'une et l'autre pucelette,
Grasselette et maigrelette.
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3,15 of the original text.
Composition:
- Set to music by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "Grasselette et maigrelette", 1920, stanzas 1-3,15, from Cinq poèmes de Ronsard, no. 4
Text Authorship:
- by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), "Gayeté III", appears in Gayetez et Epigrammes, first published 1553
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (David Wyatt) , "The plump lass and the slim lass", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 182
Word count: 856
A young girl,
A plump girl,
Whom I love utterly, more
Than my heart or my eyes,
With half of my life
Which has been utterly enslaved
By her fine plump form;
But I'm in no way upset
To be a slave for her love,
And for that beauty's fine form
Which I love utterly, more
Than my heart or my eyes.
Alas! Another girl,
A slim girl,
Whom I love utterly, more
Than my heart or my eyes,
Has utterly stolen
The other half of my life
With her fine slim form;
But I'm in no way upset
To be a slave for her love,
And for that beauty's slim lines
Which I love utterly, more
Than my heart or my eyes.
The plump one pleases me as much
As does the slim one,
And each in her turn, as much
As the other leaves me satisfied.
...
Neither time nor his efforts,
Nor fatal violence,
Nor mischievous insults,
Nor untruthful slander,
Nor insulting jibes
From your chattering neighbours,
Nor the over-careful watch
Of that gossiping cousin,
Nor the suspicion of passers-by,
Nor threatening husbands,
Nor the boldness of brothers,
Nor the preaching of mothers,
Nor haughty uncles,
Nor perilous dangers
Which can tear love asunder -
These will have no power to stop me
From always loving more
Than my heart or my eyes
The one girl and the other,
The plump lass and the slim lass.
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3,15 of the original text.
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), "Gayeté III", appears in Gayetez et Epigrammes, first published 1553
Go to the general single-text view
This text was added to the website: 2012-11-05
Line count: 182
Word count: 977