by
Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)
Vu que tu es plus blanche que le lis
Language: French (Français)
Vu que tu es plus blanche que le lis,
Qui t'a rougi ta lèvre vermeillette
D'un si beau teint ? Qui est-ce qui t'a mis
Sur ton beau sein cette couleur rougette ?
Qui t'a noirci les arcs de tes sourcils ?
Qui t'a bruni tes beaux yeux, ma maîtresse ?
Ô grand beauté remplie de soucis,
Ô grand beauté pleine de grand liesse !
Ô douce, belle, honnête cruauté,
Qui doucement me contraint de te suivre,
Ô fière, ingrate, et fâcheuse beauté,
Avecque toi je veux mourir et vivre.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
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?), "Veu que tu es plus blanche que le liz", published 1578, first performed 1576 [ vocal quartet a cappella ], from Les Amours de Pierre de Ronsard à 4 parties, Livre 2, no. 9 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Pierre Thilloy (b. 1970), "Vu que tu es plus blanche", op. 172 no. 2 (2010), published 2010 [ baritone and piano ], from Le Piège des fleurs, trois mélodies pour baryton sur des poèmes de Ronsard, no. 2, Éd. Musicales de La Salamandre [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (David Wyatt) , "Since you are whiter than the lily", 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: 12
Word count: 85
Since you are whiter than the lily
Language: English after the French (Français)
Since you are whiter than the lily,
Who reddened your crimson lips for you
With so fair a tint? Who was it
Set this delicate red on your fair breast?
Who darkened the arcs of your eyebrows for you?
Who made your lovely eyes so brown, mistress mine?
O great beauty, filled with cares,
O great beauty, full of great happiness!
O sweet, fair, reasonable cruelty
Which gently forces me to follow you;
O proud, ungrateful and displeasing beauty,
With you I wish to die -- and live!
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:
This text was added to the website: 2012-07-26
Line count: 12
Word count: 87