On the first day of May | On the first day of May, my lady

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by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

Le premier jour du mois de mai, ma dame

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Le premier jour du mois de mai, ma dame,
Dedans le cœur je sentis vos beaux yeux,
Bruns, doux, courtois, riants, délicieux,
Qui d'un glaçon feraient naître une flamme.

De leur beau jour le souvenir m'enflamme,
Et par pensée j'en deviens amoureux.
O de mon cœur les meurtriers bienheureux!
Votre vertu je sens jusques en l'âme,

Yeux qui tenez la clef de mon penser,
Maîtres de moi, qui peustes offenser
D'un seul regard ma raison toute émue,

Ha que je suis de votre amour espoint,
Las je devais jouir de votre vue
Plus longuement ou bien ne vous voir point.

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 Philippe de Monte (1521 - 1603), "Le premier jour du mois de mai" [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , "On the first day of May", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: John Versmoren

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 100

On the first day of May

Language: English after the French (Français)

On the first day of May, my lady,
Within my heart I felt your lovely eyes,
Brown, sweet, courteous, laughing, delicious,
Which with a glance started a fire.

The memory of their lovely light burns me
And in thinking of it I've fallen in love with them,
Those sweet murderers of my heart!
I feel your worth down in my soul

O eyes which hold the key to my thoughts,
My mistress, who can with a single look
Overwhelm my deeply-touched reason.

Ah, if I cannot dull the sharpness of my love for you
Alas I must enjoy the sight of you
For longer, or else see you no more.

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: 110