First published in 1527, this is one of about 175 chansons by Claudin de Sermisy, who gets a name-check in Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel.
| Tant que vivray en âge florissant, | So long as I live at a flourishing age, |
| Je serviray d'amour le dieu puissant, | I will serve love's powerful god, |
| En faictz, et dictz, en chansons, et accords. | In actions and words, in songs and harmonies. |
| Par plusieurs fois m'a tenu languissant, | Many times (he) left me languishing, |
| Mais après dueil m'a faict réjouyssant, | But after mourning made me rejoice, |
| Car j'ay l'amour de la belle au gent corps. | Since I have the love of a beautiful woman with a fine body. |
| Son alliance | An alliance with her |
| C'est ma fiance: | That's my pledge: |
| Son cœur est mien, | Her heart is mine, |
| Le mien est sien: | Mine is hers: |
| Fi de tristesse, | Boo to sadness, |
| Vive lyesse, | Long live joy, |
| Puis qu'en amour a tant de bien. | Since in love there is so much good. |
| Quand je la veulx servir, et honorer, | When I want to serve her, and honour (her), |
| Quand par escripts veux son nom décorer, | When with fine scripts (I) want to decorate her name, |
| Quand je la veoy, et visite souvent, | When I see her, and visit her often, |
| Les envieux n'en font que murmurer, | Envious people just murmer about it |
| Mais notr'amour n'en sçaurait moins durer; | But our love won't therefore endure less; |
| Aultant ou plus en emporte le vent. | So far or further will the wind carry it. |
| Malgré envie | Despite envy |
| Toute ma vie | All my life |
| Je l'aimeray, | I will love her |
| Et chanteray, | And I will sing, |
| C'est la premiere, | “She is the first |
| C'est la derniere, | She is the last |
| Que j'ay servie, et serviray. | That I have served, and will serve”. |
The french text is from our Editions Outremontaises edition, slightly different in places from CPDL.
I've based my translation on an anonymous one lent to me by friend and fellow-Cantabilean David Adshead which begins “While I am in my prime”. In most other contexts that would be better but in this blog I'm trying to be more literal and give singers a clue as to what the individual words mean.
La belle au gent corps. La belle
is literally the beautiful (female)
, so she may be a bit younger than woman
implies. Gent
meant graceful or elegant, with overtones of being well-born. I'll lay good money that someone somewhere has translated this phrase as fair maid
.
Fi de. Well yes, you could perhaps translate this as Fie upon
. But I couldn't.
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