✕
What do I want, what?
Click to see the original lyrics (Greek)
All night long dark
Sleep governs the eyes
Aa… aa…
And it burns me, it burns me,
And it burns me, it burns me,
And desire sets ablaze
My whole body.
What do I want, what, nor do I know what,
Two opinions [are] in me,
Drop by drop [cometh] my pain.
What do I want, what, nor do I know what I want, what…
And it burns me, it burns me,
And it burns me, it burns me,
And desire sets ablaze
My whole body.
What do I want, what, nor do I know what,
Two opinions [are] in me,
Drop by drop [cometh] my pain.
What do I want, what, nor do I know what I want, what…
| Thanks! ❤ thanked 1 time |
| You can thank submitter by pressing this button |
Thanks Details:
Guests thanked 1 time
Submitted by
MickG on 2021-11-14
MickG on 2021-11-14✕
Comments
Russia is waging a disgraceful war on Ukraine. Stand With Ukraine!
About translator
Role: Expert
Contributions:
- 402 translations
- 24 transliterations
- 106 songs
- 601 thanks received
- 27 translation requests fulfilled for 25 members
- 31 transcription requests fulfilled
- left 881 comments
- added 17 annotations
- added 24 artists
Languages:
- native: Italian
- fluent: English
- advanced
- French
- Spanish
- intermediate
- Chinese
- German
- Greek (Ancient)
- beginner: Japanese
This translation wishes to match the video, the text of which is transcribed in my comment to the lyrics here.
I also want to give you the original texts by Sappho from which this song takes inspiration:
1. «Ολονυχτίς ο σκοτεινός / Τα μάτια ο ύπνος κυριεύει» (All night long black sleep governs the eyes) comes from «Ὀφθάλμοις δὲ μέλαις νύκτος ἄωρος» (Black-eyed sleep, son of Night); I expected to find «Ὄτα πάννυχος ἄσφι κατάγρει / [῎Υπνος ὄππατα]» (When night-long [sleep] takes their [eyes]) among the originals, but no;
2. «Και με καίει, με καίει, / και μ' ανάβει ο πόνος / σύγκορμη» (And it burns me, burns me, and desire sets my whole body ablaze) comes from «καὶ ποθήω καὶ μάομαι» (And I desire and I crave);
3. «Τί θέλω τί, μήτε ξέρω τί / Δυο γνώμες μέσα μου» (What do I want, what, nor do I know what, [there are] two thoughts in me) comes from «Ούκ οἶδ' ὄττι θέω· δύο μοι τὰ νοήμματα» (I don't know what to say/do/think: I have two thoughts);
4. «Σταγόνα τη σταγόνα ο πόνος μου» (Drop by drop [cometh] my pain) comes from «κὰτ ἔμον στάλαχμον» (because of my pain), where "pain" literally means "dripping".