Nel teatro del gran mondo
Language: Italian (Italiano)
Nel teatro del gran mondo
cerca ognun la sua fortuna:
ma, stia ben da capo a fondo,
l'uom contento mai non è.
Se la cerca nel denaro,
più ne acquista più ne vuole.
Se la brama negli onori
tenta il vol di là dal sole.
Sempre avanti, sempre avanti
va scontento l'uom di sé.
Io cercai la mia fortuna
in un certo non so che;
ma ho trovato poi l'intoppo
che de' guai provar mi fé.
Eh godiam di quel che viene,
né cerchiam quel che non c'è.
Text 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 (Andrew Schneider) , "Everyone seeks his fortune", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2018-05-21
Line count: 16
Word count: 88
Everyone seeks his fortune
Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)
Everyone seeks his fortune
in this great theatre called "the world":
but, though he be well-off from head to toe,
mankind is never content.
If he seeks happiness in money,
well, the more he gets, the more he wants.
If he wants to find it in acquiring honors,
he will attempt to fly to the sun in pursuit of them.
Forward march, always forward march,
man perennially goes forth dissatisfied with himself.
I once tried to seek out my fortune,
in a certain je-ne-sais-quoi,
but I then found my path covered
with obstacles that led me to woe.
Let's enjoy what comes, and not search
endlessly for that which does not exist.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2018 by Andrew Schneider, (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:
This text was added to the website: 2018-05-22
Line count: 16
Word count: 112
