If I were Jupiter, Sinope, you would be | If I were Jupiter, Sinope, you would be

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by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

Si j'estois Jupiter, Sinope, vous seriez

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Si j'estois Jupiter, Sinope, vous seriez
Mon espouse Junon: si j'estois Roy des ondes,
Vous seriez ma Thétys, Roine des eaux profondes
Et pour vostre maison [l'Océan]¹ vous auriez:

Si la terre estoit mienne avec moy vous tiendriez
L'empire [de la terre aux mammelles fecondes]²,
Et dessus une coche en belles tresses blondes
Par le peuple en honneur déesse vous iriez.

Mais je ne suis pas Dieu et si ne le puis estre,
Pour telles dignitez le ciel ne m'a fait naistre,
Mais je voudrois avoir changé [mon]³ bonnet rond,

Et vous avoir chez moy pour ma chere espousée:
Toute ainsi que la nege au [doux]⁴ soleil se fond
Je me fondrois en vous d'une douce rousée.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• G. Boni

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Boni: "la grand' mer"
² Boni: "sous vos mains, dame, des terres rondes"
³ Boni: "de"
⁴ Boni: "chaut"

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), "Si j'estois Jupiter Sinope vous seriez", published 1607 [vocal quartet], from the collection Sonnets de Pierre de Ronsard mis en musique à 4 parties, II, no. 22, Paris, Pierre Ballard [
text verified 1 time
]

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , title 1: "If I were Jupiter, Sinope, you would be", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: David Wyatt

This text was added to the website: 2015-03-01
Line count: 14
Word count: 122

If I were Jupiter, Sinope, you would be

Language: English after the French (Français)

If I were Jupiter, Sinope, you would be
My wife Juno; if i were king of the waves,
You would be my Thetis, queen of the deep waters
And would have as your home [the Ocean]¹;

If the earth were mine, you would hold with me
Power [over the earth with its fruitful breasts]²,
And in a coach, with your beautiful blonde hair,
You would go like a goddess, honoured by the people.

But I am not a god, nor can I become one:
For such honours heaven did not have me born.
But I wish I could have exchanged my round priest's hat

And had you in my home as my dear wife;
Just as the snow melts in the [soft]³ sunshine,
So I would melt into you like the soft dew.

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Boni: "the great sea"
² Boni: "in your hands, my lady, over the round world"
³ Boni: "hot"

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: 2015-03-01
Line count: 14
Word count: 137