Portrait of a girl | When I see so many colours

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Translation © by David Wyatt

Le portrait d'une enfant

Language: French (Français) after the French (Français)

Our translations: ENG ENG

Quand je voy tant de couleurs
Et de fleurs
Qui esmaillent un rivage,

Je pense voir le beau teint
Qui es peint
Si vermeil en son visage.

Quand je sens parmy les prez
Diaprez
Les fleurs dont la terre est pleine,

Lors je fais croire à mes sens,
Que je sens
La douceur de son haleine.

Note: this is a few stanzas from a much longer poem.

The text shown is a variant of another text. [ View differences ]
It is based on

a text in French (Français) by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), "Chanson"
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Jules Massenet (1842 - 1912), "Le portrait d'une enfant", op. 12 no. 4 (1868) [ sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , "Portrait of a girl", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (David Wyatt) , "Portrait of a girl", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 56

Portrait of a girl

Language: English after the French (Français)

When I see so many colours
And flowers
Bejewel the riversides

I seem to see the rosy hue
Which too
Upon your cheeks resides.

When I see across a field
Revealed
Lovely flowers covering the ground

It seems your breath's soft touch,
So much
I do my sense confound.

Note: an attempt to follow the rhyme scheme.

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 Not Applicable [an adaptation]
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), "Chanson"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2012-07-25
Line count: 12
Word count: 49