Why remain alone | Why remain alone to keep one's sheep?

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by Jean-Louis Croze (1869 - 1955)

Translation © by Tara Melia Hunt

Pourquoi rester seulette?

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Pourquoi rester seulette a garder ses moutons?
Que peut une fillette qui n'a
que sa houlette contre les loups gloutons!

Avec moi dans la plaine vient pour me protéger,
Pierre, le beau berger...
Fille, fuseau léger entre mes doigts la laine.

Pierre est fort, Pierre est doux:
Sa parole caresse, Il m'a dit à genoux: "Madeleine, aimons-nous"
Et Pierre a ma tendresse.

Mais il s'en est allé Auprès d'une autre belle,
et les loups m'ont volé jusqu'à mon chien fidèle...
mes larmes ont coulé...
Fille, fuseau léger!
Pierre, le beau berger, m'est infidèle.

Text Authorship:

by Jean-Louis Croze (1869 - 1955) [author's text not yet checked 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 Charles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921), "Pourquoi rester seulette?", subtitle: "Bergerie Watteau", 1894, published 1895 [ high voice and piano ], Éd. Durand [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Tara Melia Hunt) , "Why remain alone", copyright © 2003, (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: 14
Word count: 93

Why remain alone

Language: English after the French (Français)

 Why remain alone to keep one's sheep?
 What can a young girl do 
 who does not have a crook against the gluttonous wolves!

 With me in the plain, someone comes to protect me:
 Pierre, the beautiful shepherd...
 "Maiden, the wool between my fingers is light on the spindle."

 Pierre is strong, Pierre is soft:
 His word caresses. He said to me on his knees: "Madeleine, we love each other"
 And Pierre has my tenderness.

 But he is gone from here to another beautiful girl,
 and the wolves stole from me even my faithful dog... 
 my tears ran... 
 "Maiden, light on the spindle!"
 Pierre, the beautiful shepherd, is unfaithful to me!

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2003 by Tara Melia Hunt, (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:

a text in French (Français) by Jean-Louis Croze (1869 - 1955)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 111