Plaisir D'Amour
(Jean-Paul-Égide Martini)
Plaisir D’Amour
by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini
The “Plaisir D’Amour” (literally “The pleasure of love”) is a classical French love song written in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini (1741–1816); it took its text from a poem by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (1755–1794), which appears in his novel Célestine.
The song was greatly successful in Martini’s version. For example, a young woman, Madame Julie Charles, sang it to the poet Alphonse de Lamartine during his cure at Aix-les-Bains in 1816, and the poet was to recall it 30 years later.
Hector Berlioz arranged it for orchestra (H134) in 1859. Louis van Waefelghem arranged the tune for viola d’amore or viola and piano in the 1880s. It has been arranged and performed in various pop music settings.
A version of the melody has been used in Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling In Love and the 20th century Christian.
Kathleen Battle – Plaisir d’amour
Lyrics (French)
Chagrin d’amour dure toute la vie
Tu m’as quitté pour la belle Sylvie
Elle te quitte pour un autre amant
Plaisir d’amour ne dure qu’un moment
Chagrin d’amour dure toute la vie
Tant que cette eau coulera doucement
Vers ce ruisseau qui borde la prairie
Je t’aimerai te répétait Sylvie
L’eau coule encore elle a changé pourtant
Plaisir d’amour ne dure qu’un moment
Chagrin d’amour dure toute la vie
Lyrics (English)
The pleasure of love lasts only for a moment,
The pain of love lasts a lifetime.
You’ve left me for the beautiful Sylvia,
And she’s leaving you for another lover.
The pleasure of love lasts only for a moment,
The pain of love lasts a lifetime.
“As long as this water will run gently
Towards this brook which borders the meadow,
I will love you”, Sylvia told you repeatedly.
The water still runs, but she has changed.
The pleasure of love lasts only for a moment,
The pain of love lasts a lifetime.
