AIR: Malbrough s’en va-t-en guerre
FIRST VERSE
My steed out of breath,
(How my heart, my heart aches!)
I wandered from plain to plain,
At the will of the charger.
SECOND VERSE
At the will of the charger,
Without varlet or squire,
There near a fountain,
(How my heart, my heart aches!)
Thinking of my godmother,
I felt my tears flow.
THIRD VERSE
I felt my tears flow,
Ready to despair;
I engraved on an ash tree,
(How my heart, my heart aches!)
Her letter within mine;
The king came passing by.
FOURTH VERSE
The king came passing by.
His barons, his clergy.
– Fair page, said the queen,
(How my heart, my heart aches!)
Who puts you in distress?
Who makes you weep so?
FIFTH VERSE
Who makes you weep so?
You must declare it to us.
– Madam and sovereign,
(How my heart, my heart aches!)
I had a godmother,
Whom I always adored.
SIXTH VERSE
Whom I always adored:
I feel I shall die of it.
– Fair page, said the queen,
(How my heart, my heart aches!)
Is there but one godmother?
I shall serve as one for you.
SEVENTH VERSE
I shall serve as one for you;
I shall make you my page;
Then to my young Helene,
(How my heart, my heart aches!)
Daughter of a captain,
One day I shall marry you.
EIGHTH VERSE
One day I shall marry you.
– Nay, do not speak of it;
I want, dragging my chain,
(How my heart, my heart aches!)
To die of this sorrow;
But never to be consoled.
(The Marriage of Figaro)
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais
Translation generated by Poésies 123 with assistance from the deepseek-chat artificial-intelligence model.
Text published on Poésies 123: https://www.poesies123.com/en/song-romance-of-cherubin-pierre-augustin-caron-de-beaumarchais/
