My lady, if you are far from me | My lady, if you are far from me

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by Guillaume de Machaut (c1300 - 1377)

Translation © by David Wyatt

Dame, se vous m'estes lointeinne

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Dame, se vous m'estes lointeinne,
Pas n'est mes cuers de vous lointeins,
Car par ramembrance procheinne
Est nuit et jour de vous procheins;
Et en lieu dou cuer est remeins
En mon corps li maus amourous,
  Comment que soie long de vous.

Mais cils mauls est sans nulle peinne;
Car, quant j'en suis plus fort ateins,
Bonté, valour, biauté souvreinne,
Dont vos gentils corps est enciens,
Font que je chant de joie pleins
Pour vous, dame, à qui je sui tous,
  Comment que soie long de vous.

Se vous pri, dame d'onneur pleine,
Que, se vos frans cuers est ja certeins
Que li miens loyaument se peinne
D'amer et qui vous est remeins
Que vous souffrez à tout le meins
Qu'il vous serve, loiaus cuers dous,
  Comment que soie long de vous.

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), "Dame, se vous m'estes lointeinne", monophonic ballade [
text verified 1 time
]

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , title 1: "My lady, if you are far from me", 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: 21
Word count: 132

My lady, if you are far from me

Language: English after the French (Français)

My lady, if you are far from me
My heart is not far from you,
For by recent  memory
It is night and day close to you;
And instead of my heart, there remains
In my body a lover’s ills,
    However far I am from you.

But these ills are without any pain;
For when I am more badly hurt,
Goodness, Worth, and sovereign Beauty
With which your body is surrounded
Make me sing , full of joy
For you, my lady, whose I am entirely,
    However far I am from you.

So I beg you, lady full of honour,
That if your true heart is now certain
That mine faithfully suffers
From loving and remains yours,
Then you will allow mine forever
To serve you, sweet and faithful heart,
    However far I am from you.

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: 21
Word count: 136