My dear lady | My dear lady, hear my song

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 Anonymous / Unidentified Author

Translation © by David Wyatt

Matona mia cara

Language: Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: ENG ENG FIN

Matona mia cara, mi follere canzon
cantar sotto finestra, Lanze bon compagnon. 
Don don don diridiridon don don don 

Ti prego m'ascoltare che mi cantar de bon
e mi ti foller bene come greco e capon. 
Don don don diridiridon don don don 

Com'andar alle cazze, cazzar con le falcon,
mi ti portar beccazze, grasse come rognon
Don don don diridiridon don don don 

Se mi non saper dire tante belle rason
Petrarca mi non saper, ne fonte d'Helicon. 
Don don don diridiridon don don don 

Se ti mi foller bene mi non esser poltron;
mi ficcar tutta notte, urtar come monton
Don don don diridiridon don don don

Note: this is Italian with a fake-German accent.

Text Authorship:

by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [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 Roland de Lassus (1532 - 1594), "Matona mia cara", 1581. [four-part chorus] [
text verified 1 time
]

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

FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , title unknown, copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (David Wyatt) , title 1: "My tear laydee", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (David Wyatt) , title 1: "My dear lady", copyright © 2012, (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: 15
Word count: 109

My dear lady

Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)

My dear lady, hear my song,
Sung under your window, to win you as companion.
Dum dum dum di dum di dum.

I beg you to hear the good things I sing,
And I wish you well like the Greek did the chicken¹.
Dum dum dum di dum di dum.

When I go to hunt, to hunt with the falcon,
I will bring you woodcocks, fat as foie gras²
Dum dum dum di dum di dum.

If I cannot use the right words, it's because I don't know
Petrarch or the muses of Helicon.
Dum dum dum di dum di dum.

If you wish me well, you won't want me to look a fool,
I shall f*** all night, bucking like a bronco.
Dum dum dum di dum di dum.

View original text (without footnotes)
Note: a plain-English version (cf. the other translation in fake-German accent to match the Italian)
¹ presumably a reference to a story well-known at the time.
² lit: "fat as kidneys"; I have tried to catch the equivalent of his French word in an Italian poem.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2012 by David Wyatt, (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 Anonymous/Unidentified Artist
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2012-05-18
Line count: 15
Word count: 130