Verdi's first successful opera, Nabucco (Nebuchadnezzar), was written in 1842. It relates the Biblical story of the captivity of the Hebrews in Babylon in the 6th century B.C.
In the opera, the chorus "Va, pensiero" (a paraphrase of Psalm 137) is sung by the exiles on the banks of the Euphrates, lamenting the loss of their homeland.
The piece soon became a popular anthem for the Italian people, expressing their own longing for political freedom from Austria.
When Verdi's coffin was carried to its final resting place a month after his death in 1901, the crowd of over 25,000 people along the route spontaneously began singing this stirring chorus.
http://www.wowzone.com/pensiero.htmVa', pensiero, sull'ali dorate.
Va', ti posa sui clivi, sui coll,
ove olezzano tepide e molli
l'aure dolci del suolo natal!
Del Giordano le rive saluta,
di Sionne le torri atterrate.
O mia Patria, sì bella e perduta!
O membranza sì cara e fatal!
Arpa d'or dei fatidici vati,
perché muta dal salice pendi?
Le memorie del petto riaccendi,
ci favella del tempo che fu!
O simile di Solima ai fati,
traggi un suono di crudo lamento;
o t'ispiri il Signore un concento
che ne infonda al patire virtù
che ne infonda al patire virtù
che ne infonda al patire virtù
al patire virt
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!
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