Verdi had a piece that was inspired by Psalm 137. It looks back on the story of the Jewish exiles in Babylon.
Some apparently are advocating that this piece become the new national anthem in Italy:
The lyrics in English are as follows:
Fly, thoughts, on wings of gold;
go settle upon the slopes and the hills,
where, soft and mild,
the sweet air of our native land smells fragrant!
Greet the banks of the Jordan
and Zion's toppled towers.
Oh, my country so lovely and lost!
Oh, memory so dear and despairing!
Golden harp of the prophetic seers,
why do you hang mute upon the willow?
Rekindle our heart's memories and speak of times gone by!
Mindful of the fate of Jerusalem,
either sound a song of sad lamentation,
or else let the Lord give us the strength to bear our sufferings!
Sounds okay. Who are those advocating such a change? What's wrong with ITALIA, ITALIA, ITALIA, ETC. AND THE ENEMY WILL NOT PASS OUR FRONTIER. I can only hum a few bars. Has this been passed on to THE ORDER SONS OF ITALY IN AMERICA? I prefer an older national anthem.It gose something like this: GIOVINEZZA, GOVINEZZA, Salve o popolo di'eroi, salve o patria immortale, and so on, and then near the end it rings out with great enthuisasm Swear Fealty to Mussolini. Had a certian springyness to it. With the inflow of Muslims, perhaps the new anthem would be much better.
Posted by: Anthony MANGIARACINA | February 01, 2010 at 11:53 AM
Tony, I think part of the impetus for pushing this is that "Va, Pensiero" is much more easy to sing. Italy has the same problem that we have in the USA with our national anthem-- it is not particularly "singable". I wonder whether the military theme of the old anthem also might be motivating those that are seeking the change.
Posted by: Joe Guarino | February 01, 2010 at 12:04 PM