by Pierre de Ronsard (1524 - 1585)
Translation © by Faith J. Cormier

Amour, dy moy de grace, (ainsi des bas...
Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  ENG
Amour, dy moy de grace, [(ainsi des bas humains,
Et des dieux soit tousjours l'empire entre tes mains)]1
  Qui te fournist de fleches,
Veu que tousjours [armé]2 en mill' et mille lieus,
Tu perds tes traitz ès coeurs des hommes et des Dieus
  Empennez de flammeches?

Mais je te pry dy moy, est-ce point le Dieu Mars,
Quand il revient chargé [des armes]3 des soudars
  Occis à la bataille?
Ou bien si c'est Vulcan qui dedans ses fourneaus
(Apres les tiens perduz) t'en refaict des nouveaus,
  Et [en don te les baille?]4

Pauvret (respond Amour), et quoy ignores tu,
[(O gentil serviteur!) la puissante]5 vertu
  Des beaus yeus de t'amie?
Plus je repens [mes]6 traitz sur hommes et sur Dieus,
Et plus en un moment [me]7 fournissement les yeus
  De ta belle Marie.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   J. Castro •   D. Le Blanc 

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Le Blanc: "(ainsi de tous humains,/ Et des dieux soit tousjours l'empire entre tes mains)"; omitted by Castro.
2 Le Blanc: "colere"
3 Le Blanc: "du butin"
4 Le Blanc: "tous-jours t’en rebaille !"
5 Le Blanc: "La rigueur, la douceur, la force et la"
6 Le Blanc: "de"
7 Le Blanc: "m'en"

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):

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

  • ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "Love, tell me, for pity's sake", copyright © 2000, (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: 18
Word count: 140

Love, tell me, for pity's sake
Language: English  after the French (Français) 
Love, tell me, for pity's sake thus [lowly]1 humans
and gods alike are always in your realm,
who supplies thy arrows, 
since thou goest about, always [armed]2, in thousands upon thousands of places
and loosest thy flame-fletched shafts into the hearts of men and gods?


I pray thee, tell me, is it not the god Mars, 
when he comes back loaded with the [arms]3 of soldiers 
dead in battle? 
Or is it Vulcan, who makes thee new ones in his forge
(when thou losest thine old ones) 
and [gives them unto thee]4?

Poor little one (Love replied), dost thou not know
[(sweet servant) the]5 power 
of thy lover's sweet eyes? 
The more I loose my shafts against men and gods, 
the [more]6, in a moment, thy lovely Marie's eyes
supply me again.

View original text (without footnotes)
Changes made by Le Blanc supplied in English by David Wyatt:
1 Le Blanc: "all"
2 Le Blanc: "angry"
3 Le Blanc: "booty"
4 Le Blanc: "always gives them thee back"
5 Le Blanc: "The harshness, the sweetness, the force and the"
6 Le Blanc: "more of them"

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2000 by Faith J. Cormier, (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.
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Based on:

 

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 17
Word count: 140