"whan yonge, my life was long in sinne"
Whan yonge, my lyf was long in sinne,
As seked I riches and not richesse,
And nowe I kan that ner koude winne,
Of naughte mighte I haue noblesse.
Than turned I fro such folye,
Or so I thoghte, tho still did er.
Sawe I thy face, of grete beautye
And kunne wel of what I fer.
Graunte me loue, as nowe I se
That I cold serue thee welle, I trowe.
Tak me close, and let me be
Ner that herte I dreame to knowe.
translation:
When young, my life was long in sin,
As I sought riches and not richesse,
And now I know that I could not succeed on that path,
For I would have gained nothing of noblesse.
So I turned from such folly,
Or so I thought, though I still erred.
I saw your extremely beautiful face
And knew well of my fears.
Grant me love, as I now see
That I could serve you well, I believe.
Hold me close, and let me be
Near to that heart that I dream to know.
explanation (razo):
This is a a Middle English translation of my Old French poem Ma jeunesse loing en sin usai. I wrote this ME version for a book I printed and bound for Atlantian Twelfth Night AS XL; while I was more interested in the OF songs, I knew the book's reader base would not be - so I wanted to provide facing translations for those who might otherwise feel lost (or at least more lost than if they just read these ME poems). I did not base this on any particular lyric, but rather wanted to imitate the general style and voice of the broad 13th c. anonymous ME lyric repertoire.
