cityoftmi:

Okay, I can’t be positive, but I believe this is the children’s ballad Maryse sung to Alec, Izzy, and Jace when they were children, as discussed in City of Ashes. 

I hope I’m right, as it’s not confirmed by Cassandra Clare herself, but I googled the lyrics and this is what I found, it’s a French children’s ballad so it makes sense. 

The Lyrics in English:

At the clear fountain,
While I was strolling by,
I found the water so nice
That I went in to bathe.

Chorus
So long I’ve been loving you,
I will never forget you.

Under an oak tree,
I dried myself.
On the highest branch,
A nightingale was singing.

Chorus

Sing, nightingale, sing,
Your heart is so happy.
Your heart feels like laughing,
Mine feels like weeping.

Chorus

I lost my beloved,
Without deserving it,
For a bunch of roses,
That I denied her.

Chorus

I wanted the rose
To be still on the bush,
And my sweet beloved
To be still loving me. 

asshaiishadowbinder:

“Do you remember that song you used to sing to Isabelle and Alec—when they were little and afraid of the dark—to get them to fall asleep?”
Maryse appeared taken aback. “What are you talking about?”
“I used to hear you through the walls,” he said. “Alec’s bedroom was next to mine then.”
She said nothing.
“It was in French,” Jace said. “The song.”
“I don’t know why you’d remember something like that.” She looked at him as if he’d accused her of something.
“You never sang to me.”
There was a barely perceptible pause. Then, “Oh, you,” she said. “You were never afraid of the dark.”
“What kind of ten-year-old is never afraid of the dark?”

Chapter 1: Valentine’s Arrow - City of Ashes, Cassandra Clare

“A la claire fontaine,” Maryse said, “m’en allant promener.”
He turned to look at her. “What?”
“Il y a longtemps que je t’aime. Jamais je ne t’oublierai—it’s the old French ballad I used to sing to Alec and Isabelle. The one you asked me about.”
There was very little light in the room now, and in the dimness Maryse looked to him almost as she had when he was ten years old, as if she had not changed at all in the past seven years. She looked severe and worried, anxious—and hopeful. She looked like the only mother he’d ever known.
“You were wrong that I never sang it to you,” she said. “It’s just that you never heard me.”

Chapter 19: Dies Irae - City of Ashes, Cassandra Clare

thelifeofmattievalentine:

Definitely my favourite bit is when Maryse says she loves Jace like a son, THE FUCKING FEELS..

But I wish we could learn more about the Mortal Sword.. I just have this unhealthy fascination with swords :o

fellowwallflower:

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