Lyrics:
L'amour est un oiseau rebelle
que nul ne peut apprivoiser,
et c'est bien en vain qu'on l'appelle,
s'il lui convient de refuser.
Rien n'y fait, menace ou prière,
l'un parle bien, l'autre se tait:
Et c'est l'autre que je préfère,
Il n'a rien dit mais il me plaît.
L'amour! L'amour! L'amour! L'amour!
L'amour est enfant de Bohême,
il n'a jamais, jamais connu de loi;
si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime:
si je t'aime, prends garde à toi! etc.
L'oiseau que tu croyais surprendre
battit de l'aile et s'envola …
l'amour est loin, tu peux l'attendre;
tu ne l'attends plus, il est là!
Tout autour de toi, vite, vite,
il vient, s'en va, puis il revient …
tu crois le tenir, il t'évite,
tu crois l'éviter, il te tient.
L'amour! L'amour! L'amour! L'amour!
Lyrics:
Love is like a wild bird rebellious,
To tame him no one knows the way,
'Tis in vain that we coax or call him,
If he refuses to obey.
Prayers or menaces fail to win him,
He answers quick, or naught will tell.
This I like the best of all in him,
He nothing says, but suits me well.
chorus:
Oh! Love! Young Love!
Oh! Love! Young Love!
A true Bohemian child is he.
And knows no land, he knows no law or care.
If thou dost love me not, I love thee,
And if I love thee, Ah! beware!
If thou dost love me not, if thou dost love me not, I love thee,
And if I love thee, if I love thee, Ah! then beware!
Thus the bird, when you thought you'd caught him,
Resistance made, and flew away;
Love was absent when most you sought him,
You seek no more, he's here today!
All around you he circles swiftly,
He comes and goes, then comes again;
Think to hold him, he 'scapes you deftly;
You fain would fly, but all in vain!
trans. Theodore T. Barker, 1878
Since no copy of this cob has yet been found, it is possible that it may be some other habanera by Delibes, such as the popular Les Filles de Cadix/Cadiz.
