Romance of Galatea | The care of my flock occupies me wholly

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by Jean Pierre Claris de Florian (1755 - 1794)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Les soins de mon troupeau m'occupent...

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Les soins de mon troupeau m'occupent toute entière,
C'est de mes seuls agneaux que dépend mon bonheur;
Quand j'ai trouvé pour eux une fontaine claire,
S'ils sont content, rien ne manque à mon coeur.
Je dors toute la nuit: quand l'aube va paraître,
Sans crainte et sans désir je vois venir le jour;
Ce doux repos m'est cher; je ne veux point connaître
Ce vieux enfant que l'on appelle Amour.
Que les loups et l'Amour soient loin de ma retraite!
Trop heureuses brebis! un chien sûr vous défend;
Pour me défendre, hélas! je n'ai qu'une houlette:
Mais c'est assez pour combattre un enfant.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Jean Pierre Claris de Florian (1755 - 1794), no title, appears in Galatée, Pastorale imitée de Cervantes, first published <<1811 [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 Fanny Hensel (1805 - 1847), "Romance de Galatée", H-U 7 (1820), published 2006 [ high voice and piano ], from Frühe Französische Lieder, no. 3, note: an arrangement for voice and guitar came out in 2005 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Romance of Galatea", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2008-09-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 103

Romance of Galatea

Language: English after the French (Français)

The care of my flock occupies me wholly,
My happiness depends only on my lambs;
When I have found a clear spring for them,
[And] if they are happy, my heart wants nothing.
I sleep the whole night through; when dawn is nigh,
I watch the day break, with neither fear nor desire;
This sweet rest is dear to me; I do not want to know
This old child whom they call Love.
So that wolves and Love may be far from my retreat,
Oh happy sheep, a faithful dog protects you;
To defend myself, alas! I have only a crook;
But it is enough to fight a child.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2008 by Sharon Krebs, (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 Jean Pierre Claris de Florian (1755 - 1794), no title, appears in Galatée, Pastorale imitée de Cervantes, first published <<1811
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2008-09-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 109