E lucevan le stelle

• By: Plácido Domingo
• Album: Tosca

Lyrics:

[Italiano]

[English]

E lucevan la stelle?

And the stars were shining?

E olezzava la terra?

And the earth was fragrant?

Stridea l? uscio dell? orto?

Did the garden gate creak?

E un passo sfiorava la rena.

And a footstep brush the sand.

Entrava ella, fragrante,

She entered, fragrant,

Mi cadea fra le braccia.

Fell into my arms.

Oh! dolci baci, o languide carezze,

Oh! sweet kisses, oh! languid caresses,

Mentr? io fremente

While I, trembling,

Le belle forme disciogliea dai veli!

Freed her beautiful form from its veils!

Svanì per sempre il sogno mio d? amore?

Has my dream of love vanished forever?

L? ora è fuggita e muoio disperato!

The hour has fled, and I die despairing!

E non ho amato mai tanto la vita!

And I have never loved life so much!

...

...

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
lucevan /luˈtʃevan/ B2	verb - were shining
stelle /ˈstelle/ A2	noun - stars
olezzava /oletˈtsava/ C1	verb - was fragrant
terra /ˈtɛrra/ A1	noun - earth, land
stridea /strˈidea/ C1	verb - creaked
uscio /ˈuʃʃo/ B2	noun - door
orto /ˈɔrto/ B2	noun - garden
passo /ˈpasso/ A2	noun - step
sfiorava /sfioˈrava/ C1	verb - grazed, brushed
rena /ˈrɛna/ B1	noun - sand
fragrante /fraˈɡrante/ B2	adjective - fragrant
cadea /kaˈdea/ B2	verb - fell
braccia /ˈbratʃʃa/ A2	noun - arms
dolci /ˈdoltʃi/ A2	adjective - sweet
baci /ˈbatʃi/ A2	noun - kisses
languide /ˈlanɡwido/ B2	adjective - languid
carezze /kaˈrettse/ B1	noun - caresses
fremente /freˈmente/ C1	adjective - trembling
belle /ˈbɛlle/ A1	adjective - beautiful
forme /ˈforme/ A2	noun - forms
disciogliea /diʃˈʃɔʎʎea/ C1	verb - I dissolved, released
veli /ˈvɛli/ B1	noun - veils
svanì /zvaˈni/ B2	verb - vanished
sogno /ˈsɔɲɲo/ A2	noun - dream
amore /aˈmore/ A1	noun - love
fuggita /fuˈd͡ʒːita/ B2	verb - fled
muoio /ˈmwɔio/ B1	verb - I die
disperato /dispeˈrato/ B2	adjective - desperate
amato /aˈmato/ A2	verb - loved
vita /ˈvita/ A1	noun - life

Grammar:

• E lucevan le stelle?

  ➔ Past tense of 'lucevan' (imperfect of 'lucciare') showing ongoing or habitual past actions.

  ➔ 'Lucevan' is the imperfect tense, used to describe ongoing or habitual actions in the past.

• E lucevan le stelle?

  ➔ Interrogative sentence structure using inversion to ask a question.

  ➔ The sentence is a question formed by inversion of the subject and verb, common in Italian interrogative forms.

• E un passo sfiorava la rena.

  ➔ Use of the simple past tense 'sfiorava' (imperfect of 'sfiorare') indicating a gentle, ongoing action.

  ➔ 'Sfiorava' is imperfect tense of 'sfiorare', illustrating a gentle, continuous past action.

• Oh! dolci baci, o languide carezze,

  ➔ Use of adjectives 'dolci' (sweet) and nouns 'baci' (kisses), 'carezze' (caresses) to describe tender feelings.

  ➔ 'Dolci' is an adjective meaning 'sweet', used with nouns like 'baci' and 'carezze' to evoke tenderness.

• Le belle forme disciogliea dai veli!

  ➔ Imperfect tense 'disciogliea' (disciogliere) indicating gradual or ongoing action.

  ➔ 'Disciogliea' is imperfect tense of 'discioglier', showing the action of gradually revealing or unfolding.