The orphan | I went to the cemetery to find my mother

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by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

Translation © by Kyle Gee

L'orfano

Language: Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: ENG

Sono andato al cimitero a trovar la madre mia,
Ho baciato il marmo vero ove dorme quella pia.
E parlandole siccome le parlando ai lieti dì,
Col suo dolce e santo nome dal mio cor tal prece uscì:

Sarà vero, o madre amata, ch'io potrò vederti ancora?
Oltre l'urna desolata splende ai morti un' altra aurora?
Un abisso tenebroso s'apre ai varchi dell'avel.
Deh tu, o madre, al cor dubbioso svela un lembo del tuo cielo.

Della morte e della vita meditando il gran mistero
La mia fede andò smarita si fé notte il mio pensier.
Se per sempre orfano io son, se qui tutto ha da finir,
Troppo orrendo è l'abbandon, troppo amaro è il sovvenir!

Text Authorship:

by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [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 Amilcare Ponchielli (1834 - 1886), "L'orfano" [voice and piano] [
text verified 1 time
]

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

ENG English (Kyle Gee) , title 1: "The orphan", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Kyle Gee

This text was added to the website: 2012-08-18
Line count: 12
Word count: 117

The orphan

Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)

I went to the cemetery to find my mother,
I kissed the exact marble where that pious woman lies.
And speaking to her just like I used to in a happier time,
I, invoking her sweet and holy name, said this prayer:

"Will I truly be able to see you again, my beloved mother?
Does another dawn shine on the dead who've passed the desolate urn?
A dark abyss opens to the passages of the tomb,
Mother, reveal some small piece of your heaven to my doubtful heart."

While meditating on the great mystery of life and death
I lost my faith, and in doing so night consumed my thoughts.
If I'm going to be an orphan forever, if this is where it all ends,
(then) it is so terrible to be abandoned, the memory is too bitter!

Text Authorship:

Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2012 by Kyle Gee, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Kyle Gee. Contact: kyleanthonygee (AT) gmail (DOT) com
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Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2012-08-18
Line count: 12
Word count: 138