This impassioned courting song, a collaboration of V. Russo and E. Di Capua, became an often-requested encore for the legendary tenor Enrico Caruso. It was recorded by him on July 11, 1918, with a mandolin accompaniment for Victor Records, but, for either technical or artistic reasons, the plate was unfortunately destroyed.

The text, written in Neapolitan dialect, is delivered by a loving admirer, or perhaps suitor, standing in the street beneath Maria's window, desperate for a chance encounter with his beloved one ("I don't find the time nor peace at night; when day breaks, I'm always around here, hoping to speak to you").

The instrumental introduction imitates a fandango-like guitar strumming figure in triple meter which underscores a staccato melody. This secondary theme suggests a small Latin ensemble with solo flute or trumpet in its first few measures, and then evokes an image of stealthy, lightly tripping footsteps.

The voice enters with two long phrases both of which gradually work downward from the high point of pleading to Maria, in a series of sultry minor key sustained tones each ending in rotating figures, to describing the singer's exhaustion which ends on the lower tonic.

For the chorus, the key changes to a hopeful and joyfully belted major key ("O Marì! O Marì! How much sleep I've lost over you! Let me sleep hugging you a bit..."). The orchestra (or piano) accompaniment punctuates the singer's sustained tones with full chords, and then doubles his melody in full-bodied harmonies.

The previous introduction is repeated in a slightly shortened version, and its melody transformed into a new countersubject that interweaves throughout the vocalist's line in the second verse. This lovely counterpoint perfectly outlines the description of the poetic gifts that the enamored one offers his beloved: "In the middle of this little garden that laughs and is marvelous, a bed of leaves and roses I've made for you...come, because it's sweet at night, the sky is a mantle, you sleep and I'll sing to you, a lullaby next to you."

The chorus and introduction are recapitulated as before, and the accompaniment returns to the simplicity of the first verse. The emotion slowly builds in the third and last verse as the watcher observes Maria finally opening her window and, wonder of wonders, she actually signals to him "with her little hand." He immediately picks up his guitar and plays her a "little serenade." The orchestra enters with the chorus melody while the singer remains tacet (supposedly preoccupied with putting his soul into his guitar playing). The singer enters again after a fermata in the orchestral part. This line contains the highest notes yet for the voice (two high A's in the key of D major) and the piece ends with an enthusiastic accelerando by the accompaniment while the singer sustains the major third of the chord throughout.

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