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I |
1 |
I would rejoice for true love |
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No matter how hot or cold it was; |
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I shall always submit to her, |
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But I still do not know |
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5 |
If I can stay in joy, |
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Or whether she whom my heart desires |
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Will wish to retain me as her own. |
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II |
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I would abandon lords and ladies |
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If it pleased her that I should serve her; |
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10 |
And whoever told me I should have to leave her |
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Would cause me to die instantly, |
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For I have hope in none other, |
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Night or day, morning or evening, |
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Nor do I think of anything else. |
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III |
15 |
I would hardly have so swiftly sought her |
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Had I known how hard it would be to win her; |
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There was never anything that did not defer |
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To love; but she is haughty about it; |
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And a lady cannot be worth a thing, |
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20 |
Either in wealth or in power, |
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If the joy of love does not inspire her. |
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IV |
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I would never part from her feet |
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If it pleased her, and if she let me do so, |
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Or if she enriched me only by so much |
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25 |
As to tell me that she was my lady, |
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And in addition that I was to her liking, |
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(Whether she were lying or telling the truth), |
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For with just her words she would make me rich. |
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V |
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I exist between joy and grief |
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30 |
As soon as I part from her, |
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And I have not seen her since she said to me |
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That if I loved her, she would love me; |
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But I do not know her desire; |
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Still, my lady should know indeed |
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35 |
That I shall die if she torments me long. |
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VI |
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None nobler in this world can be seen: |
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Lovely and whiter than an ermine, |
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Fresher than a rose or a lily; |
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Nothing else discourages me; |
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40 |
Ah! if I could only see the hour |
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When I could lie next to her! |
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Not me, for she does not turn my way. |
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VII |
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My lady would fulfill all my desires |
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Were she to favor me with just a kiss, |
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45 |
And I would wage war on my neighbors for it, |
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And would be generous, and would give; |
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I would become loved and feared, |
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And would lay my enemies low, |
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And would hold my possessions and enrich them. |
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VIII |
50 |
And my lady may know for certain |
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That never would a man of my power |
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Serve her with a better heart. |
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IX |
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And if she caused me so much pleasure |
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As to let me lie next to her, |
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55 |
Never would I die from this pain. |
