One Fine Day
Giacomo Puccini Lyrics


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Weeping? And why? And why?
Ah, ′tis faith you are lacking
Hear me One fine day we'll notice
A thread of smoke arising on the sea In the far horizon
And then the ship appearing
Then the trim white vessel Glides into the harbour Thunders forth her cannon See you?
Now he is coming I do not go to meet him Not I I stay upon the brow of the hillock And wait there And wait for a long time But never weary of the long waiting From out the crowded city
There is coming a man
A little speck in the distance
Climbing the hillock
Can you guess who it is? And when he′s reached the summit Can you guess what he'll say?
He will call, "Butterfly" from the distance I, without answering Hold myself quietly concealed A bit to tease him and a bit So as not to die at our first meeting And then, a little troubled He will call, he will call "Dear baby wife of mine, Dear little orange blossom" The names he used to call me when he came here This will all come to pass as I tell you tell you Bani your idle fears For he





Thanks Dhiraj Sharma for your contribution.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Giacomo Puccini's One Fine Day are part of the famous aria sung by the lead character, Cio-Cio San. The song portrays her fervent hope and longing for the return of her husband, who has been away for three years. She is standing on a hilltop, waiting for him to come home and imagining the joy and happiness that will follow. However, her doubts and fears about his possible absence and infidelity are simultaneously expressed.


The first few lines of the aria are followed by Cio-Cio San's declaration of faith, calling out to her husband that they will be reunited "one fine day." She then paints a vivid picture of the scene, imagining a ship appearing on the horizon, sailing into the harbour, and firing its cannon. She is confident in her knowledge that he will return and is seemingly content to wait for him.


As the song progresses, Cio-Cio San expresses her playful side by teasing her husband when he arrives, calling him "a little speck in the distance." She then imagines him reaching the hilltop and calling out her name, expressing her longing to be with him, but also showing some hesitation and doubt. Finally, she reassures herself and the audience that her fears are unfounded, and her husband will come back to her, using the pet names he used to call her when they first met.


Overall, the song reflects the character's deep love for her husband, and her unwavering faith and hope that he will return. It also reveals her vulnerability and anxiety about his absence and possible infidelity. The melody is both powerful and beautiful, capturing the emotion and spirit of the character.


Line by Line Meaning

Weeping? And why? And why?
Why are you crying so much? What is the reason behind your tears?


Ah, ′tis faith you are lacking
Your lack of faith is causing you distress.


Hear me One fine day we'll notice
Listen to my words. One day we will see that


A thread of smoke arising on the sea In the far horizon
We will see a small trail of smoke appearing on the sea far away on the horizon.


And then the ship appearing
Suddenly, a ship will come into view.


Then the trim white vessel Glides into the harbour
The clean and beautiful white vessel slowly makes its way into the harbor.


Thunders forth her cannon See you?
The ship will make a loud sound from its cannon in celebration. Do you see it?


Now he is coming I do not go to meet him Not I I stay upon the brow of the hillock And wait there And wait for a long time But never weary of the long waiting
Now he is coming, but I will not go to meet him. I will stay on the hilltop and wait there for a long time without ever getting tired of waiting.


From out the crowded city There is coming a man A little speck in the distance Climbing the hillock
A man is coming from the crowded city, he's a little speck in the distance and he's climbing up the hill.


Can you guess who it is? And when he′s reached the summit Can you guess what he'll say?
Can you guess who this man is? And after he has climbed to the top of the hill, can you guess what he will say?


He will call, "Butterfly" from the distance I, without answering Hold myself quietly concealed A bit to tease him and a bit So as not to die at our first meeting
He will call my name, "Butterfly," from afar. But I will not answer him immediately. I will conceal myself to tease him a little and to avoid dying from the excitement of our first meeting.


And then, a little troubled He will call, he will call "Dear baby wife of mine, Dear little orange blossom" The names he used to call me when he came here
Then, feeling a little anxious, he will call out, "My dear baby wife, my little orange blossom," the names he used to call me when he was here before.


This will all come to pass as I tell you tell you Banish your idle fears For he...
Everything I've told you will happen exactly as I have said. So do not worry unnecessarily. Because he...




Writer(s): John Charles Fiddy, Giacomo Puccini

Contributed by Nathan N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

Wanda Keenan

Weeping? And why? And why?
Ah, 'tis faith you are lacking
Hear me
One fine day we'll notice
A thread of smoke arising on the sea
In the far horizon
And then the ship appearing
Then the trim white vessel
Glides into the harbour
Thunders forth her cannon
See you? Now he is coming
I do not go to meet him
Not I
I stay upon the brow of the hillock
And wait there
And wait for a long time
But never weary of the long waiting
From out the crowded city
There is coming a man
A little speck in the distance
Climbing the hillock
Can you guess who it is?
And when he's reached the summit
Can you guess what he'll say?
He will call, "Butterfly" from the distance
I, without answering
Hold myself quietly concealed
A bit to tease him and a bit
So as not to die at our first meeting
And then, a little troubled
He will call, he will call
"Dear baby wife of mine,
Dear little orange blossom"
The names he used to call me when he came here
This will all come to pass as I tell you
Banish your idle fears
For he will return
Return



Gerrit Visser

One good day, we will see
Arising a strand of smoke
Over the far horizon on the sea
And then the ship appears
And then the ship is white
It enters into the port, it rumbles its salute.

Do you see it? He is coming!
I don't go down to meet him, not I.
I stay upon the edge of the hill
And I wait a long time
but I do not grow weary of the long wait.

And leaving from the crowded city,
A man, a little speck
Climbing the hill.
Who is it? Who is it?
And as he arrives
What will he say? What will he say?
He will call Butterfly from the distance
I without answering
Stay hidden
A little to tease him,
A little as to not die.
At the first meeting,
And then a little troubled
He will call, he will call
"Little one, dear wife
Blossom of orange"
The names he called me at his last coming.
(To Suzuki)
All this will happen,
I promise you this
Hold back your fears -
I with secure faith wait for him.



All comments from YouTube:

Roger Hunter

Beautiful and utterly heartbreaking.I thank God I can still be moved by this.

Glynis Roberts

It is sublime. Makes me cry

bassdivamtm

Yes. I long to play this aria again♡ music is life, life is music

Laura Menzies

My mum played this full blast at my grandmothers funeral as we came in to the church. It was a killer, broke mine and my brothers heart! We loved our nana and this song my mum chose for her mums funeral. ......One fine day Il find you/see you again. So pleased my mum introduced me to this music, she used to play it to me and still does given half the chance. Love you mum.

Did Ber

What does it mean " given half the chance "?!?

James Wagstaff

That’s beautiful & sad. Sending love x

Irene Winters

@Did Ber if at all possible

Irene Winters

@Did Ber Uf she can get away with it.

Did Ber

@Irene Winters thank you

Geoff M

Callas was the ultimate soprano, who thrilled audiences with her amazing voice and her powerful presence. Here she delivers the heart rendering aria, which not only touches the heart, but also the soul. The aria tugs at the emotions with Callas’s plaintive voice! Unforgettable!

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