Love holds me in his fist | Love holds me in his fist

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Alberto Donaudy (1880 - 1941)

Translation © by Gretchen Armacost

Amor mi tiene in pugno

Language: Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: ENG

Amor mi tiene in pugno,
mi gira, rigira,
m'annusa e poi sospira...
Ahimè, che brutto segno!
Son già forse indegno d'entrar nel suo regno
e starvi ancora a gironzar?
Eppur se adesso son sì dimesso,
sparuto, gibbuto, sol buono a lagrimar,
gli è per quei sospiri e i lunghi martiri
cui senza ricetto amor m'ha costretto...
Ma per un po' ch'io tento
qual fui di ritornar...,
vedrete a cento a cento le donzellette
attorno a me cascar!

D'amor tal'è il costume davvero tremendo
che vivasi morendo
e che si mora vivi,
di tutto già privi,
persin quando ancora molto c'è da assaporar...
Per cui se adesso son sì dimesso,
sparuto, gibbuto, sol buono a lagrimar,...

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), "Amor mi tiene in pugno", published <<1918, from 36 Arie di Stile Antico, no. 31. [
text verified 1 time
]

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

ENG English (Gretchen Armacost) , title 1: "Love holds me in his fist", 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: 21
Word count: 115

Love holds me in his fist

Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)

 Love holds me in his fist,
 Spins me, turns me about,
 Smells me and then sighs... 
 Ah me, what a troubled sign! 
 Am I really, perhaps, unfit to enter into his kingdom
 And to stay there again to stroll about? 
 And yet if now I am so lowly,
 Emaciated, misshapen, only good to weep,
 It is through these sighs and the long torments
 To which without refuge Love has compelled me... 
 But when I try for a little
 To return to what I was...,
 You will see by the hundreds the young girls
 Falling around me! 
 
 Such is the custom of Love, truly dreadful,
 That one may live dying,
 And that one may die alive,
 Already deprived of everything,
 Even when there is still much to here to savor... 
 Because of which, if now I am so lowly,
 Emaciated, misshapen, only good to weep ... etc.

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: 21
Word count: 146