by
Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)
Douce beauté qui me tenez le cœur
Language: French (Français)
Douce beauté qui me tenez le cœur,
Et qui avez durant toute l’année
Dedans vos yeux mon ame emprisonnée,
La faisant vivre en si belle langueur :
Ha ! que ne puis-je atteindre à la hauteur
Du Ciel tyran de nostre destinée ?
Je changerois sa course retournée,
Et mon malheur je mu’rois en bon heur.
Mais estant homme il faut qu’homme j’endure
Du Ciel cruel la violence dure
Qui me commande à mourir pour vos yeux.
Doncques je vien vous presenter, Madame,
Ce nouvel an pour obeïr aux Cieux,
Le cœur, l’esprit, le corps, le sang et l’ame.
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Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
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: 14
Word count: 96
Sweet beauty, you who hold my heart
Language: English after the French (Français)
Sweet beauty, you who hold my heart
And who have for this whole year
Kept my soul imprisoned within your eyes,
Making it live in such glorious suspense;
Ah! Why can I not reach the heights
Of Heaven, the dictator of our destiny?
I would completely change its course
And convert my sadness into happiness.
But, being a man, I must as a man endure
From cruel Heaven that harsh compulsion
Which orders me to die for your eyes.
So I now come to present to you, my Lady,
Obeying the Heavens at this new year,
My heart, my spirit, my body, my blood and my soul.
About the headline (FAQ)
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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This text was added to the website: 2014-10-27
Line count: 14
Word count: 107