| Frères humains qui après nous vivez,
| Human brothers who live after us,
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| N’ayez les coeurs contre nous endurciz,
| Do not have your hearts against us harden,
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| Car, si pitié de nous pouvres avez,
| For if pity on us may have,
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| Dieu en aura plus tost de vous merciz.
| God will sooner thank you.
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| Vous nous voyez cy attachez cinq, six:
| You see us attach five, six:
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| Quant de la chair, que trop avons nourrie,
| As for the flesh, which we have fed too much,
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| Elle est pieça devorée et pourrie,
| She's piece devoured and rotten,
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| Et nous, les os, devenons cendre et pouldre.
| And we, the bones, become ashes and powder.
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| De nostre mal personne ne s’en rie:
| No one laughs at our misfortune:
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| Mais priez Dieu que tous nous vueille absouldre!
| But pray to God that we are all absolved!
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| Se freres vous clamons, pas n’en devez
| Brothers you cry out, we don't owe it
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| Avoir desdain, quoy que fusmes occiz
| To have disdain, whatever you were occiz
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| Par justice. | By justice. |
| Toutesfois, vous savez
| However, you know
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| Que tous hommes n’ont pas bon sens rassiz;
| That all men do not have good common sense;
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| Excusez nous, puis que nous sommes transsis,
| Excuse us, since we are frozen,
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| Envers le filz de la Vierge Marie,
| To the son of the Virgin Mary,
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| Que sa grace ne soit pour nous tarie,
| May his grace be dried up for us,
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| Nous preservant de l’infernale fouldre.
| Preserving us from the infernal lightning.
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| Nous sommes mors, ame ne nous harie;
| We are dead, do not haunt us;
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| Mais priez Dieu que tous nous vueille absouldre!
| But pray to God that we are all absolved!
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| La pluye nous a debuez et lavez,
| The rain defogged and washed us,
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| Et le soleil dessechez et noirciz:
| And the sun withers and blackens:
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| Pies, corbeaulx nous ont les yeulx cavez
| Magpies, crows have our eyes covered
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| Et arraché la barbe et les sourciz.
| And pulled out the beard and the eyebrows.
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| Jamais nul temps nous ne sommes assis;
| Never no time are we seated;
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| Puis ça, puis la, comme le vent varie,
| Then that, then there, as the wind changes,
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| A son plaisir sans cesser nous charie,
| At his pleasure unceasingly carries us along,
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| Plus becquetez d’oiseaulx que dez a couldre.
| More peck birds than food.
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| Ne soyez donc de nostre confrarie;
| So do not be of our brotherhood;
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| Mais priez Dieu que tous nous vueille absouldre.
| But pray to God that we will all be absolved.
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| Prince Jhesus, qui sur tous a maistrie,
| Prince Jhesus, who above all has maistrie,
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| Garde qu’Enfer n’ait de nous seigneurie
| Keep Hell from having lordship over us
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| Garde qu’Enfer n’ait de nous seigneurie:
| Keep Hell from having lordship over us:
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| A luy n’ayons que faire ne que souldre.
| To him, let's have nothing to do but suffer.
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| Hommes, icy n’a point de mocquerie;
| Men, here has no mockery;
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| Mais priez Dieu que tous nous vueille absouldre. | But pray to God that we will all be absolved. |