La gondola nera
Language: Italian (Italiano)
Volava la gondola nera
Pel mare silente leggiera.
Leggiadro era il damo,
La cara donzella pareva un bel fior;
Neppure una volta dicevansi “t’amo,”
Ma il cor, ma gli sguardi tremavan d’amor.
Al chiaro di luna commossi dal vento
Mandavan i flutti baleni d’argento.
E un suono di baci
Fra il tonfo del remo s’udiva talor,
Ed erano ebbrezze febbrili, fugaci,
Parevan singulti d’ardente dolor.
Il mar era azzurro; la terra spariva,
La gondola nera fuggiva!
E presso l’aurora
due morte fra l’onde scoprì un pescator:
Ah! le mani convulse stringevansi ancora,
Ma muto era il labbro, ma gelido il cor.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Garrett Medlock) , "The black gondola", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Garrett Medlock
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2019-01-15
Line count: 18
Word count: 101
The black gondola
Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)
The black gondola was flying
On the sea silent and light.
Elegant was the captain,
The dear maiden looked like a beautiful flower;
Not once did they say “I love you,”
But their hearts, but their glances trembled with love.
In the moonlight moved by the wind
They sent flashing waves of silver.
And a sound of kisses
Among the thud of the oar was heard at times,
And they were intoxications feverish, fleeting,
They seemed like sobs of burning pain.
The sea was blue; the land disappeared,
The black gondola fled!
And close to dawn
A fisherman found two dead bodies among the waves:
Ah! the convulsive hands tightened again,
But mute were the lips, but icy the heart.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2019 by Garrett Medlock, (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:
This text was added to the website: 2019-01-15
Line count: 18
Word count: 120
