Category Archives: Italian language

Learn Italian in Song: Dieci Ragazze per Me

Ten Girls for Me

Another Lucio Battisti classic, this has been part of the Italian pop lexicon for decades, as illustrated in this clip from the film Bianca, starring Nanni Moretti.

Ho visto un uomo che moriva per amore,– – – I saw a man who was dying for love,
ne ho visto un altro che piu’ lacrime non ha.– – – I saw another who had no more tears.
Nessun coltello mai ti può ferir di piu’– – – No knife can wound you more
di un grande amore che ti stringe il cuor.– – – Than a great love which squeezes your heart.

Dieci ragazze per me posson bastare– – – 10 girls for me can be enough.
dieci ragazze per me io voglio dimenticare– – – 10 girls for me, I want to forget.
capelli biondi da accarezzare– – – Blonde hair to caress
e labbra rosse sulle quali morire.– – – and red lips to die on
Dieci ragazze per me solo per me.– – – 10 girls for me, only for me.

Una la voglio perché– – – One I want because
sa bene ballare.– – – she knows how to dance well.
Una la voglio perché– – – One I want because
ancor non sa cosa vuol dire l’amore.– – – she still doesn’t know what love means.

Una soltanto perché– – – One only because
ha conosciuto tutti tranne me.– – – she has known everyone but me.
Dieci ragazze cosi’– – – 10 girls like that
che dicono solo di si’.– – – who only say yes.

Vorrei sapere chi ha detto– – – I want to know who said
che non vivo piu’ senza te.– – – that I no longer live without you.
Matto, quello é proprio matto perché– – – Crazy, he’s really crazy
because
forse non sa– – – maybe he doesn’t know
che posso averne una per il giorno,– – – that I can have one for the day
una per la sera– – – one for the evening
però quel matto mi conosce– – – but that crazy knows me
perché ha detto una cosa vera.– – – because he said a true thing.

Dieci ragazze per me– – – 10 girls for me can be enough.
posson bastare
dieci ragazze per me– – – 10 girls for me, I want to forget.
io voglio dimenticare
capelli biondi da accarezzare– – – Blonde hair to caress
e labbra rosse sulle quali morire.– – – and red lips to die on
Dieci ragazze cosi’– – – 10 girls like that
che dicon solo di si’.– – – who only say yes.

Learn Italian in Song: Con il Nastro Rosa

With a Pink Ribbon

Lucio Battisti

Inseguendo una libellula in un prato 

un giorno che avevo rotto col passato

quando già credevo di esserci riuscito

son caduto.

Una frase sciocca un volgare doppio senso

mi hanno allarmato non è come io la penso

ma il sentimento era già un po’ troppo denso

e son restato

Chissà, chissà chi sei chissà
che sarai

chissà che sarà di noi

lo scopriremo solo vivendo

Comunque adesso ho un po’ paura

ora che quest’avventura

sta diventando una storia vera

spero tanto tu sia sincera!

Un magazzino che contiene tante casse

alcune nere alcune gialle alcune rosse

dovendo scegliere e studiare le mie mosse

sono alle impasse

Mi sto accorgendo che son giunto dentro casa

con la mia cassa ancora con il nastro rosa

e non vorrei aver sbagliato la mia spesa
o la mia sposa.

Chissà chissà chi sei chissà
che sarai

chissà che sarà di noi

lo scopriremo solo vivendo

Comunque adesso ho un po’ paura

ora che quest’avventura

sta diventando una storia vera

spero tanto tu sia sincera!

Following a dragonfly in a meadow 

one day when I had broken with the past

when I believed I had already done it

I fell.

A stupid phrase, a vulgar double-entendre

Alarmed me, it’s not the way I think

but the feeling was already a bit too thick

and I stayed

Who knows, who knows who you are, who knows what you will be

Who knows what will become of us

We’ll learn it only by living

In any case now I’m a bit afraid

now that this adventure

is becoming a true [love] story

I very much hope that you’re sincere!

A warehouse that contains many cases

Some black, some yellow, some red

Having to choose and study my moves

I’m at an impasse

I’m realizing that I have arrived at home

with my box still with its pink ribbon on

and I don’t want to bought the wrong thing or married the wrong bride

Who knows, who knows who you are, who knows what you will be

Who knows what will become of us

We’ll learn it only by living

In any case now I’m a bit afraid

now that this adventure

is becoming a true [love] story

I very much hope that you’re sincere!

if you find this useful and want more, let me know!

Everyday Italian: Newspaper Headlines 20

Clamorous: Videocameras and ZTL [zona traffico limitato – “limited traffic zone”]: the justice of the peace annuls the [traffic] fines

Molests a girl: band leader arrested (the photo)

Parking: Mayor Faggi “We’ll do the Serpentino” [?]

Scandal: young girl has sex at school in exchange for cell phone recharges

Albanian severely beats the owner of Bar Roma

The marathon crowns the Lecchesi: problems for the course signage

Veltroni [a presidential candidate] in Lecco

Turn of the screw on parking in the city

Zero tolerance against beggars

Arrested at school teacher accused of molestation

“My husband ran into me” [with the car]

Lecco – Azouz Marzouk under house arrest, city in revolt

Housing for foreigners; [city] council divided

Azouz arrested at Santo Stefano: protests

Politics, the earnings of parliament

Garbage sting, here’s what we’ll pay

Everyday Italian: Newspaper Headlines 19

Goodbye to the widow and historic pharmacist

Degradation at Bione [a local sports complex] – teams in revolt

Offerings stolen from the Capucin [friars]

Italian newspaper headlines

Tragedy: Worker at Fiocchi [a factory] tries to kill himself, his mother wants to save him and dies

Black Thursday on the trains and Trenitalia threatens price increases

Everyday Italian: Newspaper Headlines 18

Vandals raid the Resinelli [a tourist area on the mountain above Lecco]: the shocking photos [note that choc = shock, not chocolate]

Tax fraud: troubles for Sergio Longoni

Free gift: the volume “In dialect you say it this way”

Sting: garbage tax goes up 30% for homes, shops, garages, and warehouses

Lecco ever more expensive: price increases for pasta and milk

Alone, depressed, and without work, architect takes his own life

Italian newspaper headlines

Scandal: young girl has sex at school in exchange for cell phone recharges

Albanian severely beats the owner of Bar Roma

The marathon crowns the Lecchesi: problems for the course signage

Tragedy: he shoots himself, but the bullet hits his mother. He is in life-threatening condition [“end of life”]