Your divine eyes | Your divine eyes promise me the gift

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by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

Tes yeux divins me promettent le don

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Tes yeux divins me promettent le don
Qui d'un espoir me renflamme et renglace.
Las! mais j'ay peur qu'ils tiennent de la race
De ton ayeul le roy Laomedon.

Au flamboyer de leur double brandon
De peu à peu l'esperance m'embrasse,
Ja prevoyant par l'accueil de leur grace,
Que mon service aura quelque guerdon.

Tant seulement ta bouche m'espouvante,
Bouche vrayment qui, prophete, me chante
Tout le rebours de tes yeux amoureux.

Ainsi je vis, ainsi je meurs en doute;
L'un me rappelle et l'autre me reboute,
D'un seul objet heureux et mal-heureux.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), "Tes yeux divins" [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?), "Tes yeux divins", 1576, published 1578, first performed 1576 [ vocal quartet a cappella ], from Les Amours de Pierre de Ronsard à 4 parties, Livre 1, no. 10 [sung text not yet checked]
by Jean de Maletty (flourished 16th century), "Tes yeux divins me promettent le don" [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , "Your divine eyes", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: David Wyatt

This text was added to the website: 2012-07-25
Line count: 14
Word count: 93

Your divine eyes

Language: English after the French (Français)

Your divine eyes promise me the gift
Which re-heats and re-freezes me with hope.
Alas, I am afraid that they hold something of [the broken promises made by] the race 
Of your ancestor, King Laomedon [of Troy].

With the burning of this little torch
Little by little hope embraces me,
Already anticipating, through their gracious welcome,
That my service will get some reward.

Only -- your mouth terrifies me so much,
That mouth indeed which prophetically sings to me
Exactly the opposite of the love in your eyes.

So I live, so I die: in doubt,
While one calls me back and the other rejects me,
Made both fortunate and unfortunate by one and the same object.

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), "Tes yeux divins"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2012-07-25
Line count: 14
Word count: 116