My heart is so fixed on joy
that I cannot help but sing,
for as a child and an adult, joy has nourished me.
Without it, I’d be nothing.
I see that everything else that people do
degrades, dishonors, and defames
if love and joy do not sustain it.
Tant ai mon cor en joy assis,
per que no puesc mudar no'n chan,
que joys m'a noirit pauc e gran;
e ses luy non seria res,
qu'assatz vey que tot l'als qu'om fay
abaiss' e sordey' e dechai,
mas so qu'amors e joys soste.
per que no puesc mudar no'n chan,
que joys m'a noirit pauc e gran;
e ses luy non seria res,
qu'assatz vey que tot l'als qu'om fay
abaiss' e sordey' e dechai,
mas so qu'amors e joys soste.
Original text (French)