I dreamt that you were on your knees

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by Olindo Guerrini (1845 - 1916), as Lorenzo Stecchetti

Translation © by Hugo Poon

Ho sognato che stavi a' ginocchi

Language: Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: ENG

Ho sognato che stavi a' ginocchi,
Come un santo che prega il Signor ...
Mi guardavi nel fondo degli occhi,
Sfavillava il tuo sguardo d'amor.

Tu parlavi e la voce sommessa...
Mi chiedea dolcemente mercè...
Solo un guardo che fosse promessa,
Imploravi, curvata al mio piè.

Io tacevo e coll'anima forte
Il desio tentatore lottò.
Ho provato il martirio e la morte
pur mi vinsi e ti dissi di no.

Ma il tuo labbro sfiorò la mia faccia...
E la forza del cor mi tradì.
Chiusi gli occhi,ti stesi le braccia...
Ma, sognavo...E il bel  sogno svanì.

About the headline (FAQ)

Warning: many sources have typos on line 2-4 ("curvato") and line 3-1 ("taceva"), for example, La romanza italiana da salotto, ed. by Francesco Sanvitale, Instituto Nazionale Tostiano, 2002, p. 88.

Text Authorship:

by Olindo Guerrini (1845 - 1916), as Lorenzo Stecchetti, first published 1877 [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 Enrique Mario Casella (1891 - 1948), "Ho sognato", 1915 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Francesco Paolo Tosti (1846 - 1916), "Sogno" [sung text checked 2 times]

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

ENG English (Hugo Poon) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Mario Giuseppe Genesi

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 96

I dreamt that you were on your knees

Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)

I dreamt that you were on your knees
Like a saint praying to the Lord.
You were looking deep into my eyes,
With a glowing look of love.

You were speaking quietly,
Asking me sweetly for forgiveness.
That she be allowed just one glance,
You begged, curled at my feet.

I stayed silent and, with a strong will,
Fought the irresistible desire.
I had faced martyrdom and death;
Still, I forced myself to say no.

But then your lips touched my face,
And my heart betrayed me.
I closed my eyes, reached out to you;
But I had been dreaming, and that beautiful dream vanished.

About the headline (FAQ)

Translation of title "Sogno" = "Dream"

Text Authorship:

Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2017 by Hugo Poon, (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: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) by Olindo Guerrini (1845 - 1916), as Lorenzo Stecchetti, first published 1877
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2017-11-08
Line count: 16
Word count: 105