by
Robert Frost (1874 - 1963)
Acquainted with the night
Language: English
Our translations: GER ITA
I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain -- and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.
I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.
I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,
But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky
Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.
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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):
- by John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "Acquainted with the night", 1950 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arnold Freed (b. 1926), "Acquainted with the night", published 1965 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Mitchell (b. 1941), "Acquainted with the night", op. 48 no. 4 (1982) [ mezzo-soprano, cello, and piano ], from Five Poems by Robert Frost, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Walter A. Aue) , "Mit der Nacht vertraut", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Ho preso confidenza con la notte", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 109
Ho preso confidenza con la notte
Language: Italian (Italiano) after the English
Ho preso confidenza con la notte.
Sotto la pioggia sono uscito e rientrato
Lasciando le luci cittadine alle mie spalle.
Il vicolo più triste ho pure perlustrato
incrociando il guardiano notturno
e, per non dover spiegare, gli occhi ho abbassato
Ho arrestato i miei passi e sono rimasto immobile
mentre, a tratti interrotto, un grido ripetuto
giungeva da un’altra strada sulle case
Ma non per chiamarmi o per darmi un saluto;
e ancora più in là, dalla terra lontano,
un luminoso orologio alto nel cielo
proclamava che il tempo non aveva torto né ragione.
Ho preso confidenza con la notte.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2025 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (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: 2025-10-01
Line count: 14
Word count: 100
