Oh God of Heaven, I would not have thought

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by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

He Dieu du Ciel je n’eusse pas pensé

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

He Dieu du Ciel je n’eusse pas pensé,
Qu’un seul depart eust causé tant de peine :
Je n’ay sur moy nerf ny tendon, ny veine,
[Faye]¹, ny cœur qui n’en soit offensé.

Helas ! je suis à-demy trespassé,
Ains du tout mort, las ! Ma douce inhumaine,
Avecques elle, en s’en allant, emmaine
Mon pauvre cueur de ses beaux yeux blessé.

Que pleust à Dieu ne l’avoir jamais veüe !
Son œil si beau ne m’eust la flamme esmeüe
Par qui me faut un tourment recevoir :

Tel que ma main m’occiroit à ceste heure,
Sans un penser que j’ay de la revoir,
Et ce penser garde que je ne meure.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• P. Monte

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ De Monte: "Foye" (a variant of "foie")

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 Anthoine de Bertrand (1540? - 1581?), "He Dieu du Ciel je n’eusse pas pensé", published 1578 [ vocal quartet a cappella ], from Les Amours de Pierre de Ronsard à 4 parties, Livre 2, no. 16 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Fabrice-Marin Caietain (flourished 1570-1578), "He Dieu du Ciel je n’eusse pas pensé" [sung text checked 1 time]
by Philippe de Monte (1521 - 1603), "He Dieu du Ciel je n’eusse pas pensé" [sung text checked 1 time]

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: 109

Oh God of Heaven, I would not have...

Language: English after the French (Français)

Oh God of Heaven, I would not have thought
That one departure could cause so much pain.
There is not in me a nerve nor tendon, a vein,
Liver nor heart, which has not been hurt.

Alas, I am half-dead,
Indeed entirely dead, alas! My sweet inhuman lady,
Going away, has taken with her
My poor heart, wounded by her fair eyes.

Would to God I had never seen her!
Her eyes so fair would not have fuelled the fire
Through which I must accept this torture;

To such an extent that my hand could kill me right now,
Except for the thought I have of seeing her again,
And this thought keeps me from dying.

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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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: 2014-10-27
Line count: 14
Word count: 116