Earth, open for me | Earth, open your breast for me, and let me take back

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by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)

Translation © by David Wyatt

Terre, ouvre moy ton sein, et me laisse...

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Terre, ouvre moy ton sein, et me laisse reprendre
Mon thresor, que la Parque a caché dessous toy:
Ou bien si tu ne peux, ô terre, cache moy
Sous mesme sepulture avec sa belle cendre.

Le traict qui la tua, devoit faire descendre
Mon corps aupres du sien pour finir mon esmoy:
Aussi bien, veu le mal qu'en sa mort je reçoy,
Je ne sçaurois plus vivre, et me fasche d'attendre.

Quand ses yeux m'esclairoient, et qu'en terre j'avois
Le bon-heur de les voir, à l'heure je vivois,
Ayant de leurs rayons mon ame gouvernée.

Maintenant je suis mort: la Mort qui s'en-alla
Loger dedans ses yeux, en partant m'appella,
Et me fit de ses pieds accomplir ma journée.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585), no title, written 1578, appears in Sur la mort de Marie, no. 3, first published 1578 [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 Albert Groz , "Terre, ouvre-moi ton sein", op. 8 no. 6, published [1910] [ high voice and piano ], from Les Amours de Marie, no. 6, Paris, Éd. Rouart, Lerolle & Cie. [sung text not yet checked]
by Emanuel Moór (1863 - 1931), "Terre, ouvre moi", op. 88a no. 4 [ voice and piano ], from Premier Recueil de Mélodies, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (David Wyatt) , "Earth, open for me", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-09-06
Line count: 14
Word count: 119

Earth, open for me

Language: English after the French (Français)

Earth, open your breast for me, and let me take back
My treasure, which Fate hid beneath you:
Or if you cannot, o earth, hide me
Beneath the same monument with her fair ashes.

The blow which killed her ought to have brought down
My body beside hers, to end my anguish;
No longer, given the hurt which I receive from her death,
Can I live, and I am frustrated by waiting.

When her eyes flashed at me and I had the good fortune
To see them on this earth, then I was alive,
My soul steered by their sweet glance.

But now, I am dead: Death, which has gone
To live in her eyes, called me as he left
And made me complete my journey at her feet.

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, written 1578, appears in Sur la mort de Marie, no. 3, first published 1578
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2012-07-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 129