Venice

With melancholy thoughts
Do not [keep] tormenting yourself:
Come with me, let us get into [a] gondola,
Let us go far [into the] sea.
Let us pass the ports and the islands
Which surround the city:
The sun dies [cloudlessly]
And the moon appears.

Oh! what [a] party, oh! what [a] show
That this lagoon presents,
When all is silent,
When shines in [the] sky the moon;
And spreading her soft hair
Above the sleeping water,
She looks at herself, she pampers herself,
Like [a] woman in love!

Pull that veil [over] and conceal yourself,
[So that I may] see her appear!
If she [comes] to discover you,
She [may] make herself jealous!
This [gentle] breeze, which plays
Among your wavy hair,
Is not disturbed [by] the dust
Of the wheels and of the hair. Come!

If in shells to the Greeks Venus
[Appeared in] another [time],
Perhaps they saw in [a] gondola
A [beauty] like you,
You are beautiful, you are young,
You are fresh as a flower;
Come for all [the] tears;
Laugh now and make love!

The night is beautiful,
Hurry, oh little Nina,
Let us go in [a] little boat
To take the fresh air!
I told Toni
To row to the cave
To enjoy this breeze
Which blows from the sea…
Ah!

What pleasure to recount it
Alone in the lagoon,
And by the light of the moon
To hear him row!
You can [with a] fan
Do without, oh my dear,
[Since] the zephyrs [in a race]
Want to fan you.
Ah!

If there is among them
[One who], too indiscreet,
Wishes from [your] breast
The [cover] to tear,
Do not heed these [tall tales],
We are alone
And Toni [has his] oar
To guide [us] carefully.
Ah!

Do not run, young [men],
So eager[ly]
After that enchantment
That Nana has.
All are amiable,
I concede, [with] her,
There is a star
Fallen there,
But… but… the cuddly Nana
Has the heart of [a] tiger.

Her eye is [the] deep
Color of the sky
Gold [her] hair,
Balsam [her] breath;
There appear [on her] face
Two intact roses.
That skin makes
[Pure] milk envious.
But… but… the cuddly Nana
Has the heart of [a] tiger.

Every wink
That she gives,
Of some plague
[Venom] comes!
With her grain
Of cunning
Kindness
She knows how to measure...
But… but… the cuddly Nana
Has the heart of [a] tiger.

The blonde girl in the little gondola
   The other night I guided,
   Of pleasure the poor little one
   There in the boat fell asleep.

There she slept in [my] arms,
   Every little while she awoke to me,
   But the ship that rocked
   Put her back to sleep.

Among the clouds the moon
   Was in the sky half hidden,
   In tranquility was the lagoon,
   The wind was gentle.

A lone breeze
   Fluttered her hair,
   And made that by [those] veils 
   Hidden [her] breast was no longer.

Contemplating intently
   The form of my beloved,
   That face so smooth;
   That mouth and that beautiful bosom.

I felt inside of my breast
   A restlessness, a powerlessness,
   A type of happiness
   That I do not know how to explain.

[ ... ]

I got tired then finally
   Of [this] her excessive sleep,
   And I became bold,
   I did not have to repent;

Why, oh God, what beautiful things
   That I said her, and that I did for her!
   No, never again so blessed
   In my days will I be.

Do you remember, Nina, those years
That you were my only thought?
What torment, what rage, what grief!
Never an hour of true pleasure!
Fortunately that time is gone.
What a shame!

I saw only through your eyes,
I had no other good than your good…
What foolishness! what vain pleasures,
Oh, but now I know how to take what comes;
I no longer drive myself mad.
What a shame!

You are beautiful, but then you are [a] woman,
Some flaw I [recognize] also in you;
As you laugh with another person,
I also amuse myself with another.
Blessed [be each one’s] liberty.
What a shame!

I wish you well, but I do not [act gloomy],
I fall asleep [with] so much virtue.
I eat and drink, I know how to be with friend[s]
And I get fatter each day.
I am a man who knows what he does…
What a shame!

Dear gondolas of the lagoon
Row then, I leave you to row!
When in [the] sky the moon comes out,
I go to bed and I start to snore,
Without any thought of the past!
What a shame!

Hyacinths and violets
Are peeking out [on the] earth:
What pleasure! what joy!
Winter is gone.

The snow is vanished,
The frost is finished,
The air is warm,
The sun catches [its] breath.

[ ... ]




Friends, [rejoice],
Spring is here:
That cloud told me…
Listen! listen to the sound!

Alas! how this idea
Lifts my heart,
And I forget all
That [brutal] cold.

[Just] one little month
And the little nightingale
With [his] song drips
Honey onto the soul.

Delicious season!
You come with the rose,
You leave with the lily,
Flower worthy of heaven.