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Che debb'io far? che mi consigli, Amore?
Tempo è ben di morire,
et ò tardato più ch'i' non vorrei.
Madonna è morta, et à seco il mio core;
et volendol seguire,
interromper conven quest'anni rei,
perché mai veder lei
di qua non spero, et l'aspettar m'è noia.
Poscia ch'ogni mia gioia
per lo suo dipartire in pianto è volta,
ogni dolcezza de mia vita è tolta.
2. Amor, tu 'l senti, ond'io teco mi doglio,
quant'è il damno aspro et grave;
e so che del mio mal ti pesa et dole,
anzi del nostro, perch'ad uno scoglio
avem rotto la nave,
et in un punto n'è scurato il sole.
Qual ingegno a parole
poria aguagliare il mio doglioso stato?
Ahi orbo mondo, ingrato,
gran cagion ài di dever pianger meco,
ché quel bel ch'era in te, perduto ài seco.
...
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2 of the original text.
The anonymous text Che debbo far shares a similar first line.Composition:
- Set to music by Padre F. Mauro de Servi (c1545 - c1621), "Che debb'io far?", stanzas 1-2 [ chorus ], madrigal
Text Authorship:
- by Francesco Petrarca (1304 - 1374), no title, appears in Canzoniere (Rerum vulgarium fragmenta) , in 2. Rime In morte di Madonna Laura, no. 268
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (A. S. Kline) , no title, copyright © 2002, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2007-11-23
Line count: 82
Word count: 515
What must I do? What do you counsel, Love?
The time has truly come to die,
and I have lingered longer than I wish.
My lady is dead, and my heart with her:
and if I wish to follow,
I must interrupt this cruel life,
since I have no more hope
of seeing her here, and waiting galls me.
Now all my joy
has turned to weeping at her going,
all sweetness has been taken from my life.
Love, you feel how deep and bitter
is this loss, where I grieve with you:
and know the weight and pain of my ill,
or rather ours, because a reef
has shattered the vessel,
and in a moment our sun is darkened.
What ingenuity with words
could express my grievous state?
Ah, blind, thankless world,
you’ve good reason to weep with me,
since what was beautiful in you is lost with her.
...
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Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2 of the original text.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2002 by A. S. Kline, (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 Francesco Petrarca (1304 - 1374), no title, appears in Canzoniere (Rerum vulgarium fragmenta) , in 2. Rime In morte di Madonna Laura, no. 268
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This text was added to the website: 2015-03-10
Line count: 82
Word count: 547