When your devil was born | When your devil was born

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by Alberto Donaudy (1880 - 1941)

Translation © by Gretchen Armacost

Quand'il tuo diavol nacque

Language: Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: ENG

Quand' il tuo diavol nacque
il mio già andava a scuola,
sicchè a un'astuzia sola
il cor mai non soggiacque.
T'inghingheri; ti buzzichi,
fai per piacermi e stuzzichi...
Ma sai cos'è l'amor? Cos'è?
È un certo non so che
che niun comanda al cor.

Se finsi un solo istante
d'assecondar tue mire,
fu per non far poltrire
un cor d'antico amante.
Nessuno mai s'attedia
giucando tal commedia.
Ma sai cos'è l'amor? Cos'è?
È un certo non so che
che niun comanda al cor.

Text Authorship:

by Alberto Donaudy (1880 - 1941) [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 Stefano Donaudy (1879 - 1925), "Quand'il tuo diavol nacque", published <<1918, from 36 Arie di Stile Antico, no. 19. [
text verified 1 time
]

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

ENG English (Gretchen Armacost) , title 1: "When your devil was born", copyright © 2002, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Stuart Price

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 83

When your devil was born

Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)

 When your devil was born
 Mine was already going to school,
 So that to a single wile
 My heart was not ever subjected. 
 You dress yourself up, you stir,
 You act to please me and you tease... 
 But do you know what love is? What is it?
 It is a certain I-don't-know-what
 That no one commands in his heart. 
 
 If I feigned for a single instant
 To favor your designs,
 It was only so as not to leave idle
 The heart of an old lover. 
 No one ever gets bored
 Playing such a comedy. 
 But do you know what love is? What is it?
 It is a certain I-don't-know-what
 That no one commands in his heart.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2002 by Gretchen Armacost, (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 Alberto Donaudy (1880 - 1941)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 117