Truly a thousand ladies, and another thousand | Truly a thousand ladies, and another thousand

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by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

Mille vrayment, et mille voudroyent bien

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Mille vrayment, et mille voudroyent bien,
Et mille encor ma guerriere Cassandre,
Qu'en te laissant je me voulusse rendre
Franc de ton reth, pour vivre en leur lien.

Las ! mais mon cœur, ainçois qui n'est plus mien,
[Comme un vrai serf]¹, ne sçauroit plus entendre
A qui l'appelle, et mieux voudroit attendre
Dix mille morts, qu'il fust autre que tien.

Tant que la rose en l'espine naistra,
Tant que [sous l'eau la baleine paistra]²,
Tant que les Cerfs aimeront les ramées,

Et tant qu'Amour se nourrira de pleurs,
Tousjours au cœur ton nom et tes valeurs,
Et tes beautez me seront imprimées.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• G. Boni

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Boni: "Bon serviteur"
² Boni: "le trefle au rivage croistra"

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 Guillaume Boni (c1530 - c1594), "Mille vrayment et mille voudroient bien", published 1607 [ vocal quartet ], from Sonnets de Pierre de Ronsard mis en musique à 4 parties, II, no. 9, Paris, Pierre Ballard [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , "Truly a thousand ladies, and another thousand", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: David Wyatt

This text was added to the website: 2015-02-27
Line count: 14
Word count: 102

Truly a thousand ladies, and another thousand

Language: English after the French (Français)

Truly a thousand [ladies], and another thousand,
And a thousand more, my warlike Cassandre,
Would like me to wish to be free of your net
And, leaving you, to live in their bonds.

Alas, my heart, which is no longer mine,
[Like a true servant]¹ cannot now hear
Those who call, and it would rather await
Ten thousand deaths than be anyone's but yours.

As the rose will grow on the thorn,
As [much as the whale eats beneath the sea]²,
As stags love branches,

As Love is nourished by tears,
So will your name and your worth
And your beauties be always imprinted on my heart.

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Boni: "Like a good servant"
² Boni: "the clover will grow on the bank"

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 Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), no title
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2015-02-27
Line count: 14
Word count: 107