The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 1
Up across windy wastes and up
Su attraverso lande ventose e su
Went Alfred over the shaws,
Andò Alfred oltre i boschetti,
Shaken of the joy of giants,
Scosso dalla gioia dei giganti,
The joy without a cause.
La gioia senza una causa.
In the slopes away to the western bays,
Nei pendii verso le baie occidentali,
Where blows not ever a tree,
Dove non soffia mai un albero,
He washed his soul in the west wind
Lavò la sua anima nel vento dell'ovest
And his body in the sea.
E il suo corpo nel mare.
And he set to rhyme his ale-measures,
E mise in rima le sue misure di birra,
And he sang aloud his laws,
E cantò a voce alta le sue leggi,
Because of the joy of the giants,
A causa della gioia dei giganti,
The joy without a cause.
La gioia senza una causa.
The King went gathering Wessex men,
Il Re andò a raccogliere gli uomini del Wessex,
As grain out of the chaff
Come grano dalla pula
The few that were alive to die,
I pochi che erano vivi per morire,
Laughing, as littered skulls that lie
Ridendo, come teschi sparsi che giacciono
After lost battles turn to the sky
Dopo le battaglie perdute si volgono al cielo
An everlasting laugh.
Una risata eterna.
The King went gathering Christian men,
Il Re andò a raccogliere gli uomini cristiani,
As wheat out of the husk;
Come grano fuori dalla buccia;
Eldred, the Franklin by the sea,
Eldred, il Franco presso il mare,
And Mark, the man from Italy,
E Marco, l'uomo dall'Italia,
And Colan of the Sacred Tree,
E Colan dell'Albero Sacro,
From the old tribe on Usk.
Dalla vecchia tribù sull'Usk.
The rook croaked homeward heavily,
La cornacchia gracchiò pesantemente verso casa,
The west was clear and warm,
L'ovest era limpido e caldo,
The smoke of evening food and ease
Il fumo del cibo serale e del riposo
Rose like a blue tree in the trees
Si levava come un albero azzurro tra gli alberi
When he came to Eldred's farm.
Quando giunse alla fattoria di Eldred.
But Eldred's farm was fallen awry,
Ma la fattoria di Eldred era caduta di traverso,
Like an old cripple's bones,
Come le ossa di un vecchio storpio,
And Eldred's tools were red with rust,
E gli attrezzi di Eldred erano rossi di ruggine,
And on his well was a green crust,
E sul suo pozzo vi era una crosta verde,
And purple thistles upward thrust,
E cardi purpurei spingevano verso l'alto,
Between the kitchen stones.
Tra le pietre della cucina.
But smoke of some good feasting
Ma il fumo di qualche buon banchetto
Went upwards evermore,
Saliva verso l'alto senza sosta,
And Eldred's doors stood wide apart
E le porte di Eldred erano spalancate
For loitering foot or labouring cart,
Per il piede vagabondo o il carro da lavoro,
And Eldred's great and foolish heart
E il grande e stolto cuore di Eldred
Stood open like his door.
Era aperto come la sua porta.
Vocabulary
- Su
- On, upon, or up; directional preposition
- attraverso
- Through, across; by way of or passing via
- lande
- Moors, wastelands; barren or open landscapes
- ventose
- Windy; characterized by strong or constant winds
- Andò
- Went; third-person singular past tense of andare
- oltre
- Beyond, further, over; on the other side
- boschetti
- Small woods or copses; clusters of trees
- Scosso
- Shaken, jolted; moved or agitated forcefully
- dalla
- From the; contraction of da la
- gioia
- Joy, happiness; state of great pleasure
- dei
- Of the; contraction of di i
- giganti
- Giants; extremely large or powerful beings
- senza
- Without; lacking or devoid of something
- una
- A, an; indefinite article feminine singular
- causa
- Cause, reason, purpose; that which produces effect
- Nei
- In the; contraction of in i
- pendii
- Slopes, hillsides; inclined surfaces of terrain
- verso
- Toward, towards; in direction of something
- baie
- Bays; coastal indentations or water bodies
- occidentali
- Western, occidental; of the west or west side
- Dove
- Where, wherever; at or in what place
- non
- Not, no; negation particle or adverb
- soffia
- Blows; moves air or wind forcefully
- mai
- Never, ever; at no time whatsoever
- albero
- Tree; woody plant with trunk and branches
- Lavò
- Washed; third-person singular past tense of lavare
- sua
- His, her, its; possessive adjective feminine
- anima
- Soul, spirit; essence or life principle
- nel
- In the; contraction of in il
- vento
- Wind; air in natural motion or current
- dell
- Of the; contraction of di il
- ovest
- West; direction of sunset or westward
- corpo
- Body; physical form or material substance
- mare
- Sea, ocean; large body of saltwater
- mise
- Placed, put; past tense of mettere
- rima
- Rhyme, verse; correspondence of sounds in poetry
- misure
- Measures, amounts; quantities or dimensions determined
- birra
- Beer; fermented alcoholic beverage made from grain
- cantò
- Sang; third-person singular past tense of cantare
- voce
- Voice, sound; human utterance or expression
- alta
- High, tall; of great elevation or pitch
- leggi
- Laws, rules; regulations or statutes governing conduct
- Re
- King; male monarch or sovereign ruler
- raccogliere
- Gather, collect; bring together from various places
- uomini
- Men, people; plural of uomo, adult males
- grano
- Grain, wheat; cereal crop or seeds
- pula
- Chaff, husks; worthless separated from grain
- pochi
- Few, a few; small number or quantity
- erano
- Were; third-person plural past tense of essere
- vivi
- Alive, living; having life or existence
- morire
- Die, pass away; cease living or existence
- Ridendo
- Laughing, smiling; making sounds of joy or amusement
- teschi
- Skulls; bony head structures or death symbols
- sparsi
- Scattered, spread; distributed loosely or widely about
- giacciono
- Lie, rest; be in recumbent or horizontal position
- Dopo
- After, afterwards; following in time or sequence
- battaglie
- Battles, conflicts; armed military engagements or fights
- perdute
- Lost, defeated; no longer possessed or won
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