Beauty to equal all beauties | Beauty to equal all beauties

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by Guillaume de Machaut (c1300 - 1377)

Translation © by David Wyatt

Biauté qui toutes autres pere

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Biauté qui toutes autres pere
Envers moy diverse et estrange,
Douceur fine à mon goust amere,
Corps digne de toute loange,
Simple vis à cuer d'aïmant,
Regart pour tuer un amant,
Samblant de joie et response d'esmay
M'ont ad ce mis que pour amer morray.

Detri d'ottri que moult compere,
Bel Acueil qui de moy se vange
Amour marrastre et nompas mere,
Espoir qui de joie m'estrange,
Povre secours, desir ardant,
Triste penser, cuer souspirant,
Durté, desdaing, dangier et refus qu'ay
M'ont ad ce mis que pour amer morray.

Si vueil bien qu'à ma dame appere
Qu'elle ma joie en doleur change
Et que sa bele face clere
Me destruit, tant de meschief sen je,
Et que gieu n'ay, revel ne chant,
N'einsi com je seuil plus ne chant,
Pour ce qu'Amour, mi oueil et son corps gay
M'ont à ce mis que pour amer morray.

Text Authorship:

by Guillaume de Machaut (c1300 - 1377) [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 de Machaut (c1300 - 1377), "Biauté qui toutes autres pere" [vocal trio], ballade [
text verified 1 time
]

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , title 1: "Beauty to equal all beauties", copyright © 2015, (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: 24
Word count: 146

Beauty to equal all beauties

Language: English after the French (Français)

Beauty to equal all beauties,
Towards me inconsistent and distant;
Exquisite sweetness, bitter to my taste;
Person worthy of all praise,
Clear look, with hard heart,
Look able to kill a lover,
Appearing joyful, responding sharply,
These keep me in such a place that I shall die for love.

Slow to consent for which I must pay,
Fair Welcome who takes revenge on me,
Bitter love like no mother,
Hope which removes me from joy,
Little help, burning desire,
Sad thoughts, sighing heart,
Harshness, disdain, haughtiness and refusal which I have,
These keep me in such a place that I shall die for love.

So I want it to be clear to my lady
That she changes my joy to sadness
And that her fair, radiant face
Destroys me, such misfortune I feel,
And that I get no joy, revels or singing
And sing no more as I used to,
Because Love, my eye and her happy form,
These keep me in such a place that I shall die for love.

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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Guillaume de Machaut (c1300 - 1377)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2015-01-13
Line count: 24
Word count: 171