Tuesday, August 13, 2019
A Neapolitan Lyric?
W.H. Auden (1907-1973), A Certain World: A Commonplace Book (New York: The Viking Press, 1970), p. 196:
Dear Mike,
There’s a clear resemblance between Auden’s 'anonymous Neapolitan lyric' and a poem variously attributed to writers Salvatore di Giacomo (1860-1934) and Ferdinando Russo (1866-1927):
Best wishes,
Eric [Thomson]
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And this anonymous Neapolitan lyric is, surely, beautiful.I can't find any older source for this "Neapolitan lyric".
Strunz' . . .
Nel sole fumante
Come un incenso
A Dio . . .
Una mosca
Ti canta
Una ninna-nanna . . .
Zzz . . . Zzz . . .
Ma . . . tu non ascolti . . .
Strunz' . . . .
(Turd, smoking in the sun to God like a thurifer . . . A fly sings you a hush-a-bye . . . Zzz . . . Zzz . . . but . . . you don't listen . . . Turd! . . .)
Dear Mike,
There’s a clear resemblance between Auden’s 'anonymous Neapolitan lyric' and a poem variously attributed to writers Salvatore di Giacomo (1860-1934) and Ferdinando Russo (1866-1927):
Strunz,In standard Italian:
ch'arravugliat' staj,
n'goppa a nu marciapiede
dint a na sfera e sole.
Nù muscuglione t' gir attuorn'
e t' canta na ninna nanna,
e tu t'adduorm,
STRUNZ.
StronzoI wonder if Auden had come across a popular variant of this, or perhaps the author of the poem was echoing an earlier tradition? I don't know where or when it was published.
che attorcigliato stai
su un marciapiede
dentro un raggio di sole.
Un moscone ti gira intorno
e ti canta la ninna nanna
e tu ti addormenti,
STRONZO.
Best wishes,
Eric [Thomson]
Labels: noctes scatologicae
