by Francesco Petrarca (1304 - 1374)
Translation © by A. S. Kline

Zefiro torna, e'l bel tempo rimena
Language: Italian (Italiano) 
Available translation(s): ENG
Zefiro torna, e'l bel tempo rimena,
e i fiori e l'erbe, sua dolce famiglia,
e garrir Progne, e pianger Filomena,
e primavera candida e vermiglia.

Ridono i prati, e'l ciel si rasserena;
Giove s'allegra di mirar sua figlia;
l'aria, e l'acqua, e la terra è d'amor piena;
ogni animal d'amar si riconsiglia.

Ma per me, lasso!, tornano i più gravi
sospiri, che del cor profondo tragge
quella ch'al ciel se ne portò le chiavi;

e cantar augelletti, e fiorir piagge,
e'n belle donne oneste atti soavi
sono un deserto, e fere aspre e selvagge.

About the headline (FAQ)

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 (A. S. Kline) , no title, copyright © 2002, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Francisque Reynard) , "Canzone CCCX Zefiro torna"


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2004-04-21
Line count: 14
Word count: 94

Zephyr returns and brings fair weather
Language: English  after the Italian (Italiano) 
Zephyr returns and brings fair weather,
and the flowers and herbs, his sweet family,
and Procne singing and Philomela weeping,
and the white springtime, and the vermilion.

The meadows smile, and the skies grow clear:
Jupiter is joyful, gazing at his daughter:
the air and earth and water are filled with love:
every animal is reconciled to loving.

But to me, alas, there return the heaviest
sighs that she draws from the deepest heart,
who took the keys of it away to heaven:

and the song of little birds, and the flowering fields,
and the sweet, virtuous actions of women
are a wasteland to me, of bitter and savage creatures.

About the headline (FAQ)

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.
    Contact: 

Based on:

 

This text was added to the website: 2015-03-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 110