Villanelle
French source:
Théophile Gautier
Quand auront disparu les froids,
Tous les deux, nous irons, ma belle,
Pour cueillir le muguet au bois;
Sous nos pieds égrenant les perles
Que l'on voit, au matin trembler,
Nous irons écouter les merles
Siffler.
Le printemps est venu, ma belle;
C'est le mois des amants béni;
Et l'oiseau, satinant son aile,
Dit des vers au rebord du nid.
Oh ! viens donc sur le banc de mousse
Pour parler de nos beaux amours,
Et dis-moi de ta voix si douce:
«Toujours !»
Loin, bien loin égarant nos courses,
Faisons fuir le lapin caché,
Et le daim au miroir des sources
Admirant son grand bois penché ;
Puis chez nous tout joyeux, tout aises,
En paniers, enlaçant nos doigts,
Revenons rapportant des fraises
Des bois.
Villanelle
English translation ©
Richard Stokes
When the cold has gone,
We two will go, my sweet,
To gather lilies-of-the-valley in the woods;
Scattering as we tread the pearls of dew
We see quivering each morn,
We’ll go and hear the blackbirds
Sing!
Spring has come, my sweet;
It is the season lovers bless,
And the birds, preening their wings,
Sing songs from the edge of their nests.
Ah! Come, then, to this mossy bank
To talk of our beautiful love,
And tell me in your gentle voice:
Forever!
Far, far away we’ll stray from our path,
Startling the rabbit from his hiding-place
And the deer reflected in the spring,
Admiring his great lowered antlers;
Then home we’ll go, serene and at ease,
And entwining our fingers basket-like,
We’ll bring back home wild
Strawberries!
Villanelle
French source:
Théophile Gautier
Villanelle
English source:
Richard Stokes
Quand viendra la saison nouvelle,
When the new season comes,
Quand auront disparu les froids,
When the cold has gone,
Tous les deux, nous irons, ma belle,
We two will go, my sweet,
Pour cueillir le muguet au bois;
To gather lilies-of-the-valley in the woods;
Sous nos pieds égrenant les perles
Scattering as we tread the pearls of dew
Que l'on voit, au matin trembler,
We see quivering each morn,
Nous irons écouter les merles
We’ll go and hear the blackbirds
Siffler.
Sing!
Le printemps est venu, ma belle;
Spring has come, my sweet;
C'est le mois des amants béni;
It is the season lovers bless,
Et l'oiseau, satinant son aile,
And the birds, preening their wings,
Dit des vers au rebord du nid.
Sing songs from the edge of their nests.
Oh ! viens donc sur le banc de mousse
Ah! Come, then, to this mossy bank
Pour parler de nos beaux amours,
To talk of our beautiful love,
Et dis-moi de ta voix si douce:
And tell me in your gentle voice:
«Toujours !»
Forever!
Loin, bien loin égarant nos courses,
Far, far away we’ll stray from our path,
Faisons fuir le lapin caché,
Startling the rabbit from his hiding-place
Et le daim au miroir des sources
And the deer reflected in the spring,
Admirant son grand bois penché ;
Admiring his great lowered antlers;
Puis chez nous tout joyeux, tout aises,
Then home we’ll go, serene and at ease,
En paniers, enlaçant nos doigts,
And entwining our fingers basket-like,
Revenons rapportant des fraises
We’ll bring back home wild
Des bois.
Strawberries!
Composer
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French composer, organist, conductor, and pianist of the Romantic era. A musical prodigy, he gave his first concert at only 10 years old, before studying at the Paris Conservatoire. Information from Wikipedia.…
Poet
Théophile Gautier
Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While Gautier was an ardent defender of Romanticism, his work is difficult to classify and remains a point of reference for many…