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| Winter Cold (abstract) |
Ballade de Jesus-Christ
Jesus came in garment lowly:
"Give to me thy charity."
Jesus came in garment lowly:
"Give to me thy charity.
On the crumbs that leave thy table,
I shall dine most gratefully."
"Lady, standing by your window,
Give to me your charity.
Lady, standing by your window,
Give to me your charity."
"Come in from the cold, my poor one -
I will find a meal for thee."
As he softly stepped o'er the threshold,
round him hovered angels bright.
As he stepped o'er the threshold,
round him hovered angels bright.
"Lady, pray do not be fearful -
it is but the moon's soft light."
It's a traditional French carol (Jesus Christ s'habille en pauvre) - sung to the haunting minor key tune Picardy.
Would we, with our glut of consumer oriented Christmas traditions recognize this Jesus? Doubtful.
Okay, p. 51 & 52, of this book: http://books.google.fr/books?id=oUk7AAAAcAAJ&hl=fr&pg=PP15#v=onepage&q&f=false
ReplyDeletehas the original music, complete with lyrics. I translated it using Google Translate. Your translation is much better. Still, the last verse has her husband going to Hell, and I can't for the life of me figure it out. Any thoughts from you would be appreciated.
The translation that I use is found in The International Book of Christmas Carols - edited by Walter Ehret and George K Evans. - http://www.amazon.com/International-Christmas-Carols-Various-Authors/dp/0828903786/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384290396&sr=8-1&keywords=the+international+book+of+christmas+carols
DeleteI don't know any more about the history of the song - or other verses. Sorry.
The literal translation of the last verse is
Delete"In three days you will die,
to paradise you will go; (repeat)
And your husband, Madame,
In hell he will burn."
I'm not surprised the Christmas Carol book left this verse out -- it's a bit vengeful, but I assume it's because the husband refuses to allow the supplicant Christ to have their crumbs, preferring to give them to their dogs instead. I haven't found any other translations of this, but I haven't really searched much either!
Interesting. Thank you.
DeleteIs there a complete English Metrical Translation like this one here somewhere out there? Thanks!!!
ReplyDelete