Colla bella sua barca
Colla bella se ne va
Findelin! lin, la!
But this song is not peculiarly Venetian; it is sung everywhere on the Adriatic and Mediterranean coasts. And the version used was in pure Italian. Judged as poetry, the existing Venetian ballads take a lower place than the Vilote. They are often not much removed from doggerel, as may be shown by a lamentable history which confusedly suggests Enoch Arden with the moral of "Tue-la:"
"Who is that knocking at my gates?
Who is that knocking at my door?"
"A London captain 'tis who waits,
Your very humble servitor."
In deshabille the fair one ran,
Straightway the door she opened wide: