[È la Luna]1  in mezzo al mare,
Mamma mia si salterà :
L'ora è bella per danzare ;
Chi è in amor non mancherà !

Presto in danza a tondo a tondo...
Donne mie venite quà :
Un garzon [fresco]2 e giocondo 
A ciascuna toccherà.

Fin che in ciel brilla una stella, 
E la luna splenderà ;
Il più bel con la più bella
Tutta notte danzerà.3

Salta, salta, gira, gira,
Ogni coppia a cerchio va, 
Già s'avvanza, si ritira, 
E all' assalto tornerà.

Serra, serra colla bionda,
Colla bruna va quà e là,
Colla rossa va a seconda,
Colla smorta fermo sta.

Viva il Ballo a tondo, a tondo 
[Già son Re... son già Bascià...]4
È il più bel piacer del mondo,
La più cara voluttà !3

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with Carlo Pepoli, Varie Canzoni Anacreontiche, London, P. Rolandi, 1835, pages 33-34.

¹ Rossini: "Già la Luna è"
² Rossini: "bello"
³ Rossini adds:

Mamma mia, mamma mia,
	già la luna è in mezzo al mare,
	mamma mia, mamma mia,
	mamma mia si salterà.
	Frinche frinche frinche frinche
	mamma mia, si salterà,
	La la ra la ra...

⁴ Rossini: "Sono un Rè, sono un Bascià,"

Text Authorship:

• by Carlo Pepoli, Conte (1796 - 1881), "La Tarantola Napolitana", appears in Varie Canzoni Anacreontiche [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

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

• by Gioacchino Antonio Rossini (1792 - 1868), "La danza", alternate title: "Tarantella Napoletana" [sung text checked 1 time]

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

• ENG English (Johann Gaitzsch) , no title, copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Louis-Ernest Crevel de Charlemagne) , "La Danse", from the 1st volume of Rossini's Soirées musicales, Schott, first published 1835
• GER German (Deutsch) (G. Friedrich) , "Der Tanz", from the 1st volume of Rossini's Soirées musicales, Schott, first published 1835
• JPN Japanese (日本語) (Naoyuki Okada) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Gaitzsch , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 127

Already the moon dips into the sea, 
My goodness, she'll jump right in; 
The hour is pleasant for dancing, 
and no one in love would want to miss.

Swiftly dancing round and round, 
My dear ladies, come to me, 
See a handsome smiling fellow
Willing to dance with every one.  

While the evening star shines in the sky 
And the moon glows brightly, 
The most handsome with the fairest
Will dance the night away.

Jump, jump, turn and turn, 
Every couple circling round, 
Back and forth and over again
And return where you began.

Hold on tightly to the blonde, 
Take the brunette here and there, 
take the redhead for a turn,
the wallflower you better don't touch.

Hooray for dancing round and round, 
I'm a king, a pasha too, 
This is the greatest pleasure on earth, 
And the dearest passion!