May the Winds
Though waves and winds
May rattle the skies
And weigh on the world’s long nights,
Forgive us our sins,
Whose silent eyes
Sing of quieter slights,
Whose down-to-earth cries
Run through the veins
Of ocean and field and sun,
Where tornados rise
On the arid plains
And people come undone,
Where armageddons
Of mortal lies
Ride on the distant waves,
Where monstrous dins
Epitomize
An entire planet of graves;
As passion and gin
Flow through the bars
And blend in the summer rain,
May the life that’s been
Both ocean and stars
Color our human pain.
Explanation
Mozart’s song bids a safe journey to the singers’ beloveds, wishing that all the elements will give them whatever it is they have wanted out of life. The song hints at larger things that somehow protect us, and so I expanded the translation.
Soave sia il vento,
Tranquilla sia l’onda,
Ed ogni elemento
Benigno risponda
Ai nostri desir.
Calm though the frond,
Soft though the wave,
May the cosmic fires
Benignly respond
To all our desires.