Joan of Arc at the Stake | My God! I was a shepherdess when

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (1802 - 1870)

Translation © by Laura Prichard

Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Mon Dieu ! J'étais une bergère, quand
Vous m'avez prise au hameau
Pour chasser la race étrangère
Comme je chassais mon troupeau.
Dans la nuit de mon ignorance
Votre Esprit m'est venu chercher.
Je vais monter sur le bûcher,
Et pourtant j'ai sauvé la France.

Seigneur mon Dieu ! je suis heureuse
En sacrifice de m'offrir
Mais on la dit bien douloureuse
Cette mort que je vais souffrir.
Au dernier combat qui s'avance
Marcherai-je sans trébucher ?
Je vais monter sur le bûcher,
Et pourtant j'ai sauvé la France.

Allez me chercher ma bannière
Où pour la victoire bénis,
De Jésus Christ et de sa mère
Les deux saints noms sont réunis.
Allez me chercher ma bannière ;
Sur ce symbole d'espérance
Mon oeil mourant veut s'attacher.
Je vais monter sur le bûcher,
Et pourtant j'ai sauvé la France.

Text Authorship:

by Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (1802 - 1870) [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 Franz (Ferenc) Liszt (1811 - 1886), "Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher", S. 293 no. 2 (1874-5), published 1876 [ voice and piano ], second version, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by M. G. Friedrich ; composed by Franz Liszt.

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

ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "Joan of Arc at the Stake", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2011-04-30
Line count: 25
Word count: 135

Joan of Arc at the Stake

Language: English after the French (Français)

My God! I was a shepherdess when
You took me from my hamlet
To drive out the foreign race
Like I used to drive my flock of sheep.
In the night of my ignorance
Your Spirit came in search of me.
I am going to the stake,
And yet, I've saved France.

O Lord, my God! I am happy
To offer myself as a sacrifice
But they say it's really painful
This death which I'll suffer.
Into this last battle, wherein I go,
Will I march without stumbling?
I am going to the stake,
And yet, I've saved France.

Go bring me my banner
On which, blessed by victory,
Jesus Christ and his mother,
The two saints, both have their names.
Go bring me my banner;
It's on this symbol of hope
My dying gaze wants to affix itself.
I am going to the stake,
And yet, I've saved France.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2020 by Laura Prichard, (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 Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (1802 - 1870)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2020-01-03
Line count: 25
Word count: 150