An April Song in English, based on a French Poem

David Solomons sent me this nice ditty he sang called APRIL. The English lyrics were written by S N Solomons, the music was composed and performed by David Solomons. The English version is based on a French poem by Remi Belleau (1528-1577).

MP3 of David Solomons singing April

APRIL

April, the grace and smile
That all beguile,
The tang and the sweet breath:
Perfume of Gods on high,
Who from the sky
Relish the scent of earth.

April, courteous and gentil
Who from exile
Summons the wanderers,
The forked swifts that skim
Their way and seem
Of Spring the messengers.

May-flower and eglantine,
And verdant thyme,
Lilies and roses red
At this so beauteous tide,
Growing in pride
With lovely raiment spread.

English version of APRIL ©S N Solomons

Here’s Remi Belleau’s poem in French…

AVRIL

Avril, la grace, et le ris
De Cypris,
Le flair et la douce haleine:
Avril, le parfum des Dieux,
Qui des cieux
Sentent l`odeur de la plaine.

C`est toy courtois et gentil,
Qui d`exil
Retires ces passageres,
Ces arondelles qui vont,
Et qui sont
Du printemps les messageres.

L`aubespine et l`aiglantin,
Et le thym,
L`oeillet, le lis et les roses
En ceste belle saison,
A foison,
Monstrent leurs robes escloses.

Come visit David’s page with this song and the musical score.

Check out the Online Video of David Singing APRIL!

Many thanks to David Solomons for sharing this song for us to enjoy!

David is a one man choral singer who has been playing instruments and singing for over 30 years. Here’s a link to David Solomons’ Home Page where you can hear more of his music!

This article was posted on Wednesday, April 5th, 2006 at 10:25 am and is filed under APRIL, AVRIL, Countries & Cultures, English, France, French, Languages, MP3's, Poems about Spring, Poetry, Poetry about the Seasons, Poets, Recordings of Songs, Remi Belleau, Sites about Music, Songs about April, Songs about Spring, Songs about the Months, Songs about the Seasons, Songs by Theme, United Kingdom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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