To die | To die? And who knows what is life?

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Giuseppe Adami (1878 - 1946)

Translation © by Paolo Montanari

Morire?

Language: Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: ENG GER JPN

Morire? … E chi lo sa qual è la vita! ..
Questa che s‘apre luminosa e schietta
ai fascini, agli amori, alle speranze, …
o quella che in rinunce s‘è assopita? …

È la semplicità timida e queta …
che si tramanda come ammonimento
come un segreto di virtù segreta
perché ognuno raggiunga la sua mèta,

o non piuttosto il vivo balenare
di sogni nuovi sovra sogni stanchi,
e la pace travolta e l‘inesausta
fede d‘avere per desiderare? ..

Ecco … io non lo so…ma voi che siete
all‘altra sponda sulla riva immensa
ove fiorisce il fiore della vita,
son certo lo saprete.

Text Authorship:

by Giuseppe Adami (1878 - 1946), written 1917 [author's text not yet checked 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 Giacomo Puccini (1858 - 1924), "Morire?", c1917-8, from Per la Croce rossa italiana [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Paolo Montanari) , "To die", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Sterben?", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
JPN Japanese (日本語) (Naoyuki Okada) , "死とは?", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Bertram Kottmann

This text was added to the website: 2004-08-19
Line count: 16
Word count: 103

To die

Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)

To die? And who knows what is life?
Is it this one that opens, shining and pure,
to the charms, the loves, the hopes,
or is it the one that dozed off in renunciations?

Is the bashful and calm simplicity
that is handed down as a warning,
like a secret of a secret life
so that everyone can reach his goal,

or rather the lively flash
of new dreams over jaded dreams,
and the overwhelmed peace and the inexhaustible
faith you need to have in order to desire?

There, I don't know. But you who are
on the other side, on the vast shore
where the flower of life blossoms -
I am sure you know.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2005 by Paolo Montanari, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) by Giuseppe Adami (1878 - 1946), written 1917
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2005-10-11
Line count: 16
Word count: 115