Oh Richard, Oh, My King!
Annotation
This aria from the Gretry opera, Richard the Lion–Hearted, was adopted by royalists during the early years of the French Revolution. The song’s accusation that the king had been abandoned by all but his most devoted followers made it a suitable counter–revolutionary anthem.
Transcription
Ô Richard! Ô mon roi!
Ô Richard! Ô mon roi!
L'univers t'abandonne;
Sur la terre il n'est donc que moi
Qui m'intéresse à ta personne!
Moi seul dans l'univers,
Voudrais briser tes fers,
Et tout le reste t'abandonne!
Ô Richard! Ô mon roi!
L'univers t'abandonne;
Sur la terre il n'est donc que moi
Qui m'intéresse à ta personne!
Et sa noble amie!
Hélas! son coeur
doit être navré de douleur,
Oui, son coeur est navré de douleur.
Monarques, cherchez, cherchez des amis,
Non sous les lauriers de la gloire,
Mais sous les myrtes favoris
Qu'offrent les filles de Mémoire.
Un troubadour est tout amour,
fidélité, constance,
Et sans espoir de récompense.
Ô Richard! Ô mon roi!
L'univers t'abandonne,
Sur la terre il n'est que moi, il n'est que moi,
Qui m'intéresse à ta personne
Ô Richard! Ô mon roi!
L'univers t'abandonne,
Sur la terre il n'est que moi,
Oui c'est Blondel!
Il n'est que moi, Il n'est que moi,
Qui m'intéresse à ta personne.
N'est-il que moi, N'est-il que moi,
Qui m'intéresse à ta personne?
Translation
O Richard, O, my King!
O Richard! O my king!
The Universe abandons you!
On earth, it is only me
Who is interested in you!
Alone in the universe
I would break the chains
when everyone else deserted you!
O Richard! O my king!
The Universe abandons you!
On earth, it is only me
Who is interested in you!
And his noble friend!
Lord! His heart
ought to be aggrieved.
Yes his heart is broken. broken with grief.
Monarchs search, search for friends,
not under the laurels of glory
But under the favored myrtle
offered by the daughters of memory.
A troubadour is interested in love,
fidelity, and constancy!
He is without hope of recompense.
O Richard! O my King!
The Universe abandons you!
On earth, it is only me, it is only me,
Who is interested in you.
O Richard! O my king!
The universe abandons you.
On earth, it is only me,
Yes, it's Blondel,
It's only me, It's only me
Who is interested in you.
Is it only me, Is it only me,
Who is interested in you?
Credits
Included as part of the LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION project
https://revolution.chnm.org/d/622