In vain you beg | In vain you beg, in vain you yearn

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by Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863 - 1938)

Translation © by Laura Prichard

In van preghi, in vano aneli

Language: Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: ENG FRE

In van preghi, in vano aneli,
in van mostri il cuore infranto.
Sono forse umidi i cieli
perché noi abbiamo pianto?

Il dolor nostro è senz'ala.
Non ha volo il grido imbelle.
Piangi e prega! Qual dio cala
pel cammino delle stelle?

Abbandónati alla polve
e su lei prono ti giaci.
La supina madre assolve
d'ogni colpa chi la baci.

In un Ade senza dio
dormi quanto puoi profondo.
Tutto è sogno, tutto è oblìo:
l'asfodèlo è il fior del Mondo.

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Text Authorship:

by Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863 - 1938) [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 Francesco Paolo Tosti (1846 - 1916), "In van preghi, in vano aneli", alternate title: "In van preghi", 1907, from Quattro canzoni d'Amaranta, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "In vain you beg", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2015, (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: 16
Word count: 81

In vain you beg

Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)

In vain [you] beg, in vain [you] yearn,
in vain [you] show a broken heart.
Are perhaps the heaven dip
because of our tears?

Our pain is without wings.
Faint-hearted cries cannot fly.
Weep and pray! What god drops down
from the path of the stars?

Abandon yourself to the dust
and lie prone on it.
The supine mother absolves
the sin of each one who kisses her.

In a Hades without God,
sleep as pdeeply as possible.
Tutto is dream, all is oblivion:
the asphodel is the flower of the world.

Translator's notes
Stanza 3, line 3: i.e., Mother Earth
Stanza 4, line 4 ("asphodel"): A white flower, called ἀσφόδελος in Greek. It was a favorite food of the dead in Greek mythology, and is said to carpet Hades.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2015 by Laura Prichard, (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 Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863 - 1938)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2015-12-25
Line count: 16
Word count: 92