by Giovanni Battista Lorenzi (1721 - 1807)
Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

Il mio ben quando verrà
Language: Italian (Italiano)  after the Italian (Italiano) 
Our translations:  ENG GER
Il mio ben quando verrà
A veder la mesta amica?
Di bei fior s'ammanterà
La spiaggia aprica.
Ma nol vedo, e il mio ben,
Ahimè! Non vien?

Mentre all'aure spiegherà
La sua fiamma, i suoi lamenti,
Miti augei v'insegnerà
Più dolci accenti.
Ma non l'odo. E chi l'udì?
Ah! il mio bene ammutolì.

Tu cui stanca omai già fe'
Il mio pianto, eco pietosa,
Ei ritorna e dolce a te
Chiede, chiede la sposa.
Pian, mi chiama; piano ahimè!
No, non mi chiama, oh Dio, non c'è!

Text Authorship:

Based on:

Based on:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • ENG English (Bertram Kottmann) , "When my beloved comes", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Wenn mein Geliebter kommt", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 87

When my beloved comes
Language: English  after the Italian (Italiano) 
When my beloved comes
to see his love in grief,
beautiful flowers will cover
the sunburnt shore.
But I do not see him,
alas, my beloved does not come.

When he tells the breezes
of his beloved and his grief,
gentle birds, then he will teach you
a sweeter song.
However, I do not hear him. Who hears him?
Oh, my beloved has fallen silent.

Merciful echo, that at this point 
has already exhausted my tears,
return to him 
and he will gently ask you for his bride.
Hush, now he's calling me, hush! Alas!
No, he is not calling me, o God, he is not there.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2004 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.

    Bertram Kottmann.  Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de

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Based on:

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This text was added to the website: 2004-05-29
Line count: 18
Word count: 107