Respighi is best known for his atmospheric works such as The Pines and Fountains of Rome, and this song demonstrates that he is no less effective at developing an atmosphere in the song genre. This dramatic and powerful song, whose title translates "Mists" creates a strongly ominous mood, using a foreboding, mysterious text as its base. The song is introduced by slow minor chords, which continue throughout most of the piece. The text begins with the statement, "Soffro" (I suffer), and then paints images of a desolated landscape. "Very far away the sleeping mists rise from the silent fields. High above, the crows, trusting to their black wings, cross the dark woods. To the cruel bites of the cold wind, the sorrowing trees lift in prayer their naked branches." The vocal part moves in minor, often chromatic steps (half steps), and most of the lines start quietly, and then grow louder. The narrator then sings, "How cold I am! I am alone." In these lines, the vocal line drops an octave. Often in vocal music a sudden strong emotion is portrayed by an octave jump, rather than an octave drop, and so this musical effect is rather startling. The voice then returns to the previous melodic lines, singing "Through the grey sky a lament from one who is dead takes flight; and repeats to me, 'Come, the valley is dark. Sad one, unloved one, come! Come!" These last notes from the singer are very deep, usually causing the singer to go into chest voice, again reinforcing the ominous mood.

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