O Woman, shapely as the swan
On your account I shall not die:
The men you've slain -- a trivial clan --
Were less than I.

I ask me shall I die for these--
For blossom-teeth and scarlet lips?
And shall that delicate swan shape
Bring me eclipse?

Well-shaped the breasts and smooth the skin,
The cheeks are fair, the tresses free--
And yet I shall not suffer death--
God over me!

Those even brows, that hair like gold,
Those languorous tones, that virgin way--
The flowing limbs, the rounded heel
Slight men betray!

Thy spirit keen through radiant mien,
Thy shining throat and smiling eye,
Thy little palm, thy side like foam--
I cannot die!

O woman shapely as the swan,
In a cunning house hard-reared was I:
O bosom white, O well-shaped palm,
I shall not die!

Posted by "Í"
December 29 2000

This is great, because lo and behold I have a different translation that I thought was translated to the English by Douglas Hyde, but now I'm having doubts.  ...I posted it before with the thread title "And why should he?" and Breathnach posted the original Irish to it.... At least I think ...it was the original Irish, the Irish here looks very modern though, so I wonder if there's another version in Old Irish, with other translators to be credited.

Here's the one I have, for comparison:

For thee, I shall not die,
      Woman of high fame and name;
Foolish men thou mayest slay.
      I and they are not the same.

Why should I expire
      For the fire of an eye,
Slender waist or swan-like limb,
      Is it for them that I should die?

The round breasts, the fresh skin,
      Cheeks crimson, hair so long and rich;
Indeed, indeed, I shall not die,
      Please God, not I, for any such.

The golden hair, the forehead thin,
      The chaste mien, the gracious ease,
The rounded heel, the languid tone -
      Fools alone find death from these.

Thy sharp wit, thy perfect calm,
      Thy thin palm, like foam o' the sea;
Thy white neck, thy blue eye,
      I shall not die for thee.

Woman, graceful as the swan,
      A wise man did nurture me.
Little palm, white neck, bright eye,
      I shall not die for thee.

Posted by K E Dennis
December 30 2000

This is great, because lo and behold I have a different translation that I thought was translated to the English by Douglas Hyde, but now I'm having doubts.

Because you can’t find it in your notes? You may very well be right, tho: as you know, Hyde translated huge nos. of Irish texts, especially poems & songs from the Wesht - & the wording of the translation reads a lot like the typical style of his time. Colum’s version obviously is more recent.

At least I think the previous post of it was the original Irish, the Irish here looks very modern though, so I wonder if there's another version in Old Irish, with other translators to be credited.

There might be older texts upon which the poem is based...  "Ní bhFuighe Mise Bás Duit" is appears as PQ posted it in An Duanaire 1600-1900: Poems of the Dispossessed [ed., Seán Ó Tuama, trans., Thomas Kinsella, pub., 1981, The Dolmen Press - Bord na Gaeilge].

It’s identified as "anonymous 17th c. verse." It’s in syllabic metre, which, according to all the books on Irish verse, didn’t appear before the 1600s.

One interesting effect of all the time I’ve spent mulling over Irish poetry is that I’ve become highly conscious of the ways translation(s) can alter the whole feel of a poem. It’s perhaps a bit less obvious w/ this metrical style of verse than w/ the earlier modes, which emphasized alliteration & consonance, but one can see it even here.

The rather unartful [tho not unamusing] Kinsella translation is below.

I Will Not Die For You trans., Thomas Kinsella

An Duanaire - 1600-1900: Poems of the Dispossessed edited by Séan Ó Tuama Dublin: The Dolmen Press / Bord na Gaeilge, 1981

I will not die for you,
      lady with swan-like body.
Meagre men you have killed so far,
      and not the likes of me.

For what would make me die?
      Lips of red, or teeth like blooms?
A gentle hand, a lime-white breast?
      Should I die for these?

Your cheerful mood, your noble mind?
      O slender palm and flank like foam,
eye of blue and throat of white,
      I will not die for you.

Your rounded breasts, o skin refined,
      your flushed cheeks, your waving hair
-- certainly I will not die
      on their account, unless God will.

Your narrow brows, your hair like gold,
      your chaste intent, your languid voice,
your smooth calf, your curved heel
      -- only meagre men they kill.

Lady with swan-like body,
      I was reared by a cunning hand!
I know well how women are.
      I will not die for you.

Posted by K E Dennis
January 14 2001

And here's yet another translation to English...    I also found the other Irish version I had vaguely remembered, here:  though I'm still confused as to who authored what in the Irish.

I shall not die because of you,
O woman, though you shame the swan;
They were foolish men you killed;
Do not think me a foolish man.
Why should I leave the world behind
For the soft hand, the dreaming eye,
The scarlet mouth, the breasts of snow,
Is it for these you'd have me die ?

The joyous air, the fancy free,
The slender palm, the eye of blue,
The side like foam, the virgin neck?
I shall not die because of you.

The devil take the golden hair!
The maiden thought, the voice so gay,
The rounded heel, the pillared calf
Only some foolish man would slay.

O woman, though you shame the swan,
A wise man taught me all he knew,
I know the subtleties of love,
I shall not die because of you.