Plaisir d'Amour

Words by JEAN DE FLORIAN
Music by JEAN PAUL EGIDE MARTINI

This was written in 1780 by Jean Paul Egide Martini, using a poem from Jean de Florian's Célestine. The melody would be resurrected in 1961 when songwriters George Weiss, Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatori used Martini's music for Can't Help Falling in Love, which appeared in the King's film Blue Hawaii and proved an enduring hit in its own right. (English translation below.)

Plaisir d'amour ne dure qu'un moment.
chagrin d'amour dure toute la vie.

J'ai tout quitté pour l'ingrate Sylvie.
Elle me quitte et prend un autre aimant.

Plaisir d'amour ne dure qu'un moment.
chagrin d'amour dure toute la vie.

Tant que cette eau coulera doucement
vers ce ruisseau qui borde la prairie,

Je t'aimerai me répétait Sylvie.
L'eau coule encore. Elle a changé pourtant.

Plaisir d'amour ne dure qu'un moment.
chagrin d'amour dure toute la vie.

Translation:

The pleasure of love lasts only a moment
The pain of love lasts a lifetime.

I gave up everything for ungrateful Sylvia,
She is leaving me for another lover.

The pleasure of love lasts only a moment,
The pain of love lasts a lifetime.

"As long as this water will run gently
Towards this brook which borders the meadow,

I will love you", Sylvia would tell me.
The water still runs, but she has totally changed.

The pleasure of love lasts only a moment,
The pain of love lasts a lifetime.