by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)
Translation © by Ferdinando Albeggiani

The angels are stooping, above your bed
Language: English 
Available translation(s): ITA
The angels are [stooping]1, above your bed;
They weary of trooping with the whimpering dead.
God's laughing in heaven to see you so good;
The [Shining]2 Seven are gay with His mood.
[I kiss you and kiss you, my pigeon my own.
Ah how I shall miss you when you have grown.]3

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
First published in Scots Observer, April 1890; revised 1901
1 Grill: "singing"
2 Ebel, Grill: "Sailing"
3 Ebel: "I sigh that kiss you, for I must own/ That I shall miss you when you have grown."; Grill: "I sigh that kiss you, for I must own/ That I shall miss you when you have gone."

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):

  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Una ninna nanna", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this text: Ted Perry , Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 6
Word count: 52

Una ninna nanna
Language: Italian (Italiano)  after the English 
Si chinano gli angeli, sul tuo lettino;
stanchi della compagnia dei lamentosi morti.
Sorride Dio nel cielo, vedendoti così buono;
i Sette Risplendenti, del suo umore son lieti.
Io ti bacio e ribacio, piccioncino mio amato
come mi mancherai quando sarai cresciuto.

Authorship:

  • Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2012 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.
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Based on:

 

This text was added to the website: 2012-01-16
Line count: 6
Word count: 42