by
Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)
Soit que son or se crêpe lentement
Language: French (Français)
Soit que son or se crêpe lentement
Ou soit qu'il vague en deux glissantes ondes,
Qui çà, qui là par le sein vagabondes,
Et sur le col, nagent folâtrement ;
Ou soit qu'un noeud illustré richement
De maints rubis et maintes perles rondes,
Serre les flots de ses deux tresses blondes,
Mon coeur se plaît en son contentement.
Quel plaisir est-ce, ainçois quelle merveille,
Quand ses cheveux, troussés dessus l'oreille,
D'une Vénus imitent la façon ?
Quand d'un bonnet son chef elle adonise,
Et qu'on ne sait s'elle est fille ou garçon,
Tant sa beauté en tous deux se déguise ?
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (David Wyatt) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2017-02-07
Line count: 14
Word count: 99
Whether her golden hair curls lightly
Language: English  after the French (Français)
Whether her golden [hair] curls lightly
Or whether it flows in two gliding waves,
Wandering on her breast here and there
And swimming friskily on her neck;
Or whether a knot, richly decorated
With many rubies and many round pearls,
Holds the stream of her twin blonde tresses,
My heart is satisfied and happy.
What a pleasure it is, rather what a marvel,
When her hair gathered over her ear
Imitates the look of a Venus!
Or when she goes like Adonis with a cap on her head,
And you can’t tell if she’s girl or boy,
Her beauty so fits both.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2019 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:
This text was added to the website: 2019-10-30
Line count: 14
Word count: 102