Over the sea, the little boat

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by Rocco Emanuele Pagliara (1856 - 1914)

Translation © by Laura Prichard

Su'l mar la navicella

Language: Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: ENG GER

Su'l mar la navicella,
vaga conchiglia nera,
fuggía, leggera e snella,
per la tranquilla sera.
parea, come sospinta
da l'ala de'l disío,
e l'anima era vinta
da un infinito oblío.
Su'l nostro capo'l volo de li alcioni
e l'aleggiar de le brezze serene;
e mormoravan languide canzoni,
a' flutti in sen, fantastiche sirene.
Più vivo, in ogni stella,
c'era un folgore arcano:
fuggía la navicella,
su'l mar, lontan, lontano...

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Rocco Emanuele Pagliara (1856 - 1914) [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 Giuseppe Martucci (1856 - 1909), "Su'l mar la navicella", 1886?, from La canzone dei ricordi, no. 4. [ sung text verified 1 time]

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

ENG English (Laura Prichard) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Peter Rastl) , copyright © 2017, (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: 69

Over the sea, the little boat

Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)

Over the sea, the little boat,
like a black seashell,
sped off, lightly and streamlined,
in the tranquil evening.
It seems to be propelled
by wings of desire,
and my soul was overwhelmed
by an infinite oblivion.
Above our heads soared the gulls
and the air was awoken by gentle breezes;
and murmuring languorous songs,
among the waves, were fantastic sirens.
More alive, in every star,
there was a mysterious spark:
as the little boat sped off,
over the sea, far, far away...

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2016 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.
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Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) by Rocco Emanuele Pagliara (1856 - 1914)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2016-10-23
Line count: 16
Word count: 83