My God, my mistress is so beautiful! | My God, my God, my mistress is so beautiful!

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by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

Mon dieu, mon dieu, que ma maistresse...

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Mon dieu, mon dieu, que ma maistresse est belle!
Soit que j'admire ou ses yeus, mes seigneurs,
Ou de son front les dous-graves honneurs,
Ou l'Orient de sa levre jumelle.

Mon dieu, mon dieu, que ma dame est cruelle!
Soit qu'un raport rengrege mes douleurs,
Soit qu'un depit parannise mes pleurs,
Soit qu'un refus mes plaïes renouvelle.

Ainsi le miel de sa douce beauté
Nourrit mon cœur: ainsi sa cruauté
D'aluine amere enamere ma vie.

Ainsi repeu d'un si divers repas,
Ores je vi, ores je ne vi pas
Egal au sort des freres d'Oebalie.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), appears in Les Amours (1553), no. 9, first published 1553 [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):

[ None yet in the database ]

Set in a modified version by Anthoine de Bertrand, Louis Théodore Gouvy.

Go to the text. [ view differences ] ENG

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , "My God, my mistress is so beautiful!", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-10-28
Line count: 14
Word count: 95

My God, my mistress is so beautiful!

Language: English after the French (Français)

My God, my God, my mistress is so beautiful!
Whether I look on her eyes, which rule me,
Or the sweet-grave beauty of her forehead,
Or the dawn-rose of her twin lips.

My God, my God, my mistress is so cruel!
Whether her reply enmeshes me in sadness,
Or her spite makes my tears appear,
Or her refusal renews my pleas.

Thus the honey of her soft beauty
Feeds my heart: and thus her cruelty 
Embitters my life with bitter gall;

Thus, fed on such varied food
Sometimes I live, sometimes not,
Just like the fate of the brothers from Oebale.

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), appears in Les Amours (1553), no. 9, first published 1553
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2012-06-23
Line count: 14
Word count: 101