We were reading together | We were reading together one day for fun

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by Antonio Ghislanzoni (1824 - 1893)

Translation © by Kyle Gee

Noi leggevamo insieme un giorno per...

Language: Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: ENG

Noi leggevamo insieme un giorno per diletto
Una gentile istoria piena di mesti amor
E senz'alcun sospetto ella sedeami [a lato]¹
Sul libro avventurato intenta il guardo e il cor.
L'onda dè suoi capelli il volto a me lambia
Eco alla voce mia, 
Eco faceano i suoi sospir.
Gli occhi dal libro alzando
Nel suo celeste viso,
Io vidi in un sorriso 
Riflesso il [mio desir]².
La bella mano al core strinsi di gioia ansante...
Né più leggemmo avante... 
E cadde il libro al suol.
Noi leggevamo insieme, Ah! Ah!
Un lungo, ardente bacio congiunse i labbri aneli,
E ad ignorati cieli 
L'alme spiegaro il vol.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• A. Ponchielli

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
Confirmed with La Romanza italiana da salotto, ed. by Francesco Sanvitale, 2002.
¹ Ponchielli: "accanto"
² Ponchielli: "suo candor"

Text Authorship:

by Antonio Ghislanzoni (1824 - 1893), "Storiella d'amore" [author's text checked 1 time 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 Amilcare Ponchielli (1834 - 1886), "Noi leggevamo insieme" [voice and piano] [
text verified 1 time
]
by Giacomo Puccini (1858 - 1924), "Storiella d'amore", 1883, from Musica popolare [
text verified 1 time
]
by Giacomo Puccini (1858 - 1924), "Noi leggeramo", 1882, unpublished [
text verified 1 time
]

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

ENG English (Kyle Gee) , title 1: "We were reading together", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sergio Leone

This text was added to the website: 2004-08-19
Line count: 18
Word count: 109

We were reading together

Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)

We were reading together one day for fun
A lovely story full of sad love
And without any suspicion she sat next to me
Her eyes and heart intent on the book.
The wave of her hair caressed my face
Her sighs were the echo 
to my voice.
She look up from the book 
and in her heavenly face
I saw her innocence
reflected in her smile.
I pressed her lovely hand to my heart panting with joy...
We read no further 
and the book fell to the floor.
We were reading together, ah! ah!
A long passionate kiss brought our ardent lips together
And our souls flew 
to unknown skies.

Note: this is a translation of the version set by Ponchielli.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2012 by Kyle Gee, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Kyle Gee. Contact: kyleanthonygee (AT) gmail (DOT) com
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) by Antonio Ghislanzoni (1824 - 1893), "Storiella d'amore"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2012-08-18
Line count: 18
Word count: 111