n'as-tu point translation

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marilyn9909
Posts: 1
Joined: 24 May 2010 21:49

n'as-tu point translation

Post by marilyn9909 »

Hello, My choir is singing a mysterious piece of music by J. Vredeman de Vries (ca 1621) called N'as-tu point? The lyrics are:
"N'as tu point de fillet pour me faire trouve? N'as tu point de flambeau pour esclairer ma nage? Pour m'arrester en toy? N'as tu point de Cartage, n'as tu point de scavoir pour le serpent crever?" Does anyone know of an accurate translation for these words? It literally means "Don't you have a net to find me. Don't you have a torch to light my swim? To stop me in you. Don't you have Carthage. Don't you have knowledge for the serpent to die? We would love to know the meaning of these words. is it a love song? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Marilyn
anaigeon
Posts: 102
Joined: 06 Dec 2005 21:15
Location: France
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Re: n'as-tu point translation

Post by anaigeon »

Carthage is not clear to me, but isn't the general meaning about searching for God ?
D-fished
Posts: 31
Joined: 01 Dec 2010 04:03
Location: North Vancouver BC, Canada

Re: n'as-tu point translation

Post by D-fished »

The imagery suggests a fish that is seeking to be caught (lights were often used to attract fish to boats at night)—perhaps an appeal to a lover to 'make a move'.
A more scurrilous interpretation of 'Don't you know how to make the snake die?' suggests itself. Crever can mean to burst. I'm not sure at what point 'death' became a metaphor for sexual release, but certainly it was prevalent in Elizabethan England, which predates this piece. Nor were the writers always shy about alluding to sex in vulgar ways: see for example, Lasso's Matona, mia cara or de Sermisy's Martin menoit. The snake, then, could be a certain male body part. If I'm right about this, and by no means am I sure that I am, then I hope I don't spoil your enjoyment of the piece.

I'm just as mystified by Cartage as anaigeon. One possibility that suggests itself is that it's a word no longer found in Modern French. I'd love to know if it was capitalised in the original text or if that's an editorial interpretation. It might be cognate with English 'cartage' i.e. transportation by cart. As in: 'Once you've caught me, have you no way to take me home?' Just a wild guess, though (and as I'm trained in linguistics, I should know better than to indulge in folk-etymology).

David Millard

By the way, the name D-fished has nothing to do with aquatic life. It comes from German note nomenclature fis-h-e-d or f#-b-e-d, which in the key of D is solmized mi-la-re-do, a musical approximation of my last name.


[To the Moderators: I've tried to be delicate about how I expressed this. If you still feel that it has no business being posted, then by all means, suppress it. I don't want to give anyone offence.]
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