Alas, I weep with thousand upon thousand sighs | Alas, I weep with thousand upon thousand upon thousand

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 Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

Las, je me plain de mille et mille et...

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Las, je me plain de mille et mille et mille
Souspirs, qu'en vain des flancz je vais tirant,
Heureusement mon plaisir martirant
Au fond d'une eau qui de mes pleurs distille.

Puis je me plain d'un portraict inutile,
Ombre du vray que je suis adorant,
Et de ces yeulx qui me vont devorant,
Le cuoeur bruslé d'une flamme gentille.

Mais parsus tout je me plain d'un penser,
Qui trop souvent dans mon cuoeur faict passer
Le souvenir d'une beaulté cruelle,

Et d'un regret qui me pallist si blanc,
Que je n'ay plus en mes veines de sang,
Aux nerfz de force, en mes oz de moëlle.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• F. Regnard

F. Regnard sets stanza 1

About the headline (FAQ)

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 Anthoine de Bertrand (1540? - 1581?), "Las, je me plain de mille et mille et mille", 1576, published 1578, first performed 1576 [ vocal quartet a cappella ], from Les Amours de Pierre de Ronsard à 4 parties, Livre 1, no. 12 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Marc-Antoine Muret (1526 - 1585), "Las, je me plain de mille et mille" [sung text checked 1 time]
by François Regnard (c1530 - c1600), "Las, je me plain de mille et mille et mille", stanza 1 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , "Alas, I weep with thousand upon thousand sighs", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2010-03-23
Line count: 14
Word count: 106

Alas, I weep with thousand upon thousand sighs

Language: English after the French (Français)

Alas, I weep with thousand upon thousand upon thousand
Sighs, drawing them from my breast in vain
Torturing my pleasure pleasantly
At the bottom of a pool made of my own tears.

Then I weep over this useless portrait,
A mere shadow of the true lady I'm in love with
And of those eyes which devour me,
While my heart burns with a gentle flame.

But above all I weep for a thought
Which too often makes pass through my heart
The memory of her cruel beauty

And of a regret which leaves me white as a sheet
As if I had no blood left in my veins,
No strength in my nerves, no marrow in by bones.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2012 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: 2012-06-23
Line count: 14
Word count: 118