"Vous qui faites l'endormie," Mephistopheles's aria from Gounod's
Faust. Mephistopheles sings a mocking serenade outside Marguerite's house.
Vous qui faites l'endormie | You who pretend to be asleep, |
N'entendez-vous pas, | do you not hear, |
O Catherine, ma mie, | O Catherine, my sweetheart, |
Ma voix et mes pas? ... | my voice and my footsteps? |
Ainsi ton galant t'appelle, | Thus your suitor calls you, |
Et ton cœur l'en croit! ... | and your heart trusts him! |
N'ouvre la porte, ma belle, | Don't open the door, my beauty, |
Que la bague au doigt. | until the ring is on your finger. |
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Catherine que j'adore, | Catherine whom I adore, |
Pourquoi refuser | why refuse |
A l'amant qui vous implore | to the lover who implores you |
Un si doux baiser? | such a sweet kiss? |
Ainsi ton galant supplie | Thus your suitor beseeches you |
Et ton cœur l'en croit! ... | and your heart trusts him! |
Ne donne un baiser, ma mie, | Don't give a kiss, my sweetheart, |
Que la bague au doigt! ... | until the ring is on your finger! |