M’ama… non m’ama — Libretto
Scherzo per canto e pianoforte (1884) · Parole di X. · English version by George Henschel (1892)
M’ama… non m’ama
He loves me… loves me not · Scherzo per canto e pianoforte (1884)
Parole di X. · English version by George Henschel
Musica di
Pietro Mascagni
Bosworth & Co., Leipzig & London (Copyright 1892, plate B. & Co. 168)
Composed in 1884, M’ama… non m’ama became one of Mascagni’s most popular chamber songs in the wake of Cavalleria rusticana. The bilingual lyrics below are transcribed from pages 3–5 of the 1892 Bosworth & Co. vocal score, which pairs the anonymous Italian poem (credited simply to “X.”) with a singing English adaptation by baritone, composer, and conductor Sir George Henschel (1850–1934).
m’ama, non m’ama,
m’ama, non m’ama,
m’ama, non m’ama.
Sfoglia sfoglia finché n’hai voglia,
sfoglia, sfoglia finché n’hai voglia.
he loves me, loves me not,
he loves me, loves me not,
loves me, loves me not.
No, dear flow’r, I cannot believe it,
no, dear flow’r, I cannot believe it.
m’ama, non m’ama,
m’ama, non m’ama.
Ahi! non m’ama…
he loves me, loves me not,
loves me, loves me not.
Ah me! He does not love me!
che non t’amo?
Via ritentiamo,
via ritentiamo.
Certo mancava una foglia a quel fiore,
mancava una foglia a quel fiore,
mancava una foglia.
He does not love me?
Come! again I’ll ask it,
yes, again I’ll ask it.
Ah, now ’tis clear, of this flower a petal is wanting,
again now: He loves me,
loves me not… He loves me!
Literal English Synopsis
Whereas Henschel’s singing adaptation concludes by plucking one final imaginary petal (“He loves me, loves me not… He loves me!”), the Italian original ends directly on the playful protest that the flower itself must have been missing a petal:
He loves me… he loves me not! Pick the petals any way I like, he loves me… he loves me not! Ah, he doesn’t love me! What do the petals tell me of love? That I am not loved? Come on, try again. Surely there’s a petal missing from this flower!
English prose synopsis contributed by Roger Flury for Songs by Patricia Wright & David Vine.