I am in the middle of the waves
(Poet's title: Son fra l'onde)
Set by Schubert:
D 78
[September 18, 1813]
Son fra l’onde in mezzo al mare,
E al furor di doppio vento;
Or resisto, or mi sgomento
Fra la speme, e fra l’orror.
Per la fè, per la tua vita
Or pavento, or sono ardita,
E ritrovo egual martire
Nell’ ardire e nel timor.
I am amongst the waves in the middle of the sea
And at the mercy of a double wind;
First I resist, then I submit,
Amidst hope and amidst dread.
In regard to your faith, your life,
First I give up, then I am passionate,
And I discover the same amount of martyrdom
In the passion and in the fear.
All translations into English that appear on this website, unless otherwise stated, are by Malcolm Wren. You are free to use them on condition that you acknowledge Malcolm Wren as the translator and schubertsong.uk as the source. Unless otherwise stated, the comments and essays that appear after the texts and translations are by Malcolm Wren and are © Copyright.
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Confirmed by Peter Rastl with Tutte le opere di Pietro Metastasio, Firenze, Tipografia Borghi e compagni 1832, page 566-567.
The text appears in “Gli Orti Esperidi”, parte I, Aria di Venere.
To see an early edition of the text, go to page 64 [72 von 422] here: http://digital.onb.ac.at/OnbViewer/viewer.faces?doc=ABO_%2BZ176741809