Historical aspects

Va', pensiero is a chorus from the third act of Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi, with words by Temistocle Solera, inspired by Psalm 137. Known as Verdi's "Jewish" work of art, it recollects the story of Jewish exiles from Babylon after the loss of the First Temple in Jerusalem. The song made Verdi famous. It later became an anthem for Italian patriots, who were seeking to unify their country and free it from foreign control. Thus, the song's theme of exiles singing about their homeland, and its lines like "O mia patria, si bella e perduta" (O my country, so lovely and so lost) resonated with many Italians.

From NABUCCO, by Giuseppi Verdi

Va, pensiero, sull'ali dorate:
Va, ti posa sui clivi, sui colli,
Ove olezzano tepide e molli
L'aure dolci del suolo natal!

Del Giordano le rive saluta.
Di Sionne le torri atterrate.
Oh, mia patria si bella e perdute!
Oh, membranza si cara e fatal!

Arpa d'or dei faticidici vati,
Perche muta dal salice pendi?
Le memorie nel petto riaccendi.
Ci favella del tempo che fu!

O simile di Solima ai fatti
Traggi un suono di crudo lamento.
O t'ispiri il Signor un concento
Che ne infonda al patire virtu.

Translation.....

Fly, thought, on wings of gold,
go settle upon the slopes and the hills
where the sweet airs of our
native soil smell soft and mild!

Greet the banks of the river Jordan
and Zion's tumbled towers.
Oh, my country, so lovely and lost!
Oh remembrance so dear yet unhappy!

Golden harp of the prophetic wise men,
why hang so silently from the willows?
Rekindle the memories in our hearts,
tell us about the times gone by!

Remembering the fate of Jerusalem
play us a sad lament
or else be inspired by the Lord
to fortify us to endure our suffering!

The generally accepted version....

Speed your journey my thoughts and my longings,
Speed your journey to mountain and valley.
Where the sweet scented air breathes fragrant,
All the hopes that we knew, long ago.

Through the waters of Jordan bear greetings,
To the dark fallen temples of Zion.
Oh my country so fair and so wretched,
Oh remembrance of joy and of woe.

Golden harps of the prophets Oh tell me,
Why so silent you hang from the willow,
Once again sing the songs of our homeland,
Sing again of the days that are past.

We have drunk from the cup of affliction,
And have shed bitter tears of repression,
So inspire us Jehovah with courage,
So that we may endure to the last.
(Repeat last line twice)

You may remember that "Boney M" had a hit single in the 1980's with "Rivers of Babylon" which was more closely related and inspired by Psalm 137......(A temple singer refuses to sing the people's sacred songs in an alien land despite demands from Babylonian captors. The singer swears an oath by what is most dear to a musician--hands and tongue--to exalt Jerusalem always. The psalm ends with a prayer that the old enemies of Jerusalem, Edom and Babylon, be destroyed.)

Psalm 137......
"By the rivers of Babylon we sat mourning and weeping when we remembered Zion.
On the poplars of that land we hung up our harps.
There our captors asked us for the words of a song; Our tormentors, for a joyful song: "Sing for us a song of Zion!"
But how could we sing a song of the LORD in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand wither.
May my tongue stick to my palate if I do not remember you, If I do not exalt Jerusalem beyond all my delights.
Remember, LORD, against Edom that day at Jerusalem. They said: "Level it, level it down to its foundations!"
Fair Babylon, you destroyer, happy those who pay you back the evil you have done us!
Happy those who seize your children and smash them against a rock."