Santa Maria della Salute

You are the only reason I want to wake up
You are the only reason I can smile
When a thousand knives and a thousand eyes are piercing me
You are the only reason I can go on

Santa Maria della Salute
As we light candles before your altar
Remember us in your prayers
And give us a gondola
Where I can hold my beloved in my arms
And when the nape of my neck is kissed
I shall thank you in my prayers

There’s too much I have to do, too many hopes I must bear
There’s too much I must not do, too many fears that make me shudder
Be with me, you are the only one I can cry to
Be myself, ( with just a showy flair )
For you like me (someday…love me ) just so

Santa Maria della Salute
Help me, help us, o Queen of Heaven
Surrounded by your crown of stars
We shall go out on that gondola
To foreign marts, and buy for you the best lavender
Spices and booties worth a pirate’s daughter
And we will light candles before your altar
Two, with one flame
And then a thousand
Grant me my love

And with the flame of every candle
As it soars towards your smoke-stained icon
Where you hold your child, Our Saviour, in the nook of your arms
Never letting him go away
How did you feel when they killed him?
How did you cry when they took him away?
Grant us, Lady, as your son was resurrected
So may our love rise with every moment
Let it soar like this flame we light before you
If it threatens to wane, let it rise to life again

For I love my beloved more than I want to
Only for love I want to wake up every day

~scio amo