----- Original Message -----
From: Carolyn Kunin
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2004 10:56 AM
Subject: Re: Query: Translation of Invitation to Beheading's "Mali etrano t'amesti!"

---- Original Message -----
From: "Charles Byrd" <byrdc@uga.edu>

> I remember that Gennady Barabtarlo decoded the line, sung by
> one of Marthe's brothers in "Invitation to a Beheading," "Mali
> e trano t'amesti!" (103) as an anagram of the Russian "Smert'
> mila; eto taina!" but I can't seem to come up with a literal
> English translation of the line as it originally appears. This
> is Italian, isn't it?
>
> It would be great if you or anyone on the Nabokov list could
> translate the song lyric into English for me.
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Charles Byrd
> University of Georgia
>

Dear Charles,

It looks like Italian, but isn't quite. Perhaps a blend of Italian and Latin? Perhaps a Latinist can help?

Carolyn