Se per caso cadesse il mondo io mi sposto un po’ piu’ in la
If by chance the world should fall, I would move a little over there
sono un cuore vagabondo che di regole non ne ha
I’m a vagabond heart who has no rules
la mia vita é un roulette i miei numeri tu li sai
My life is a roulette, you know my numbers
il mio corpo é una moquette dove tu ti addormenterai.
My body is a carpet where you will fall asleep
(ritornello)
(refrain)
Ma girando la mia terra io mi sono convinta che
But travelling around my world I am convinced that
non c’é odio non c’é guerra quando a letto l’amore c’é.
There is no hate, there is no war when there is love in bed
Com’é bello far l’amore da Trieste in giu’
How lovely to make love from Trieste on down
com’é bello far l’amore io son pronta e tu…
How lovely to make love, I’m ready and you
tanti auguri, a chi tanti amanti ha
Best wishes to someone who has many lovers
tanti auguri, in campagna ed in citta’ .
Best wishes, in the country and in the city
Com’é bello far l’amore da Trieste in giu’
How lovely to make love from Trieste on down
l’importante farlo sempre con chi hai voglia tu
The important thing is always to do it with whom you like
e se ti lascia lo sai che si fa…
and if they leave you, you know what to do
trovi un altro piu’ bello, che problemi non ha.
Find another, even handsomer, who doesn’t have problems.
Tutti dicono che l’amore va a braccetto con la follia
Everyone says that love goes arm-in-arm with madness
ma per una che é gia’ matta tutto questo che vuoi che sia
But for one who is already crazy, what do you expect?
tante volte l’incoscienza é la strada della virtu’
Many times ignorance is the road to virtue
litigare, litigare per amarsi sempre di piu’.
To fight, to fight, to love each other ever more
(ritornello)
(refrain)
*Tanti auguri is a standard greeting for birthdays and festive holidays. For a birthday, the full greeting would be Tanti auguri di buon compleanno – “Best wishes for a happy birthday.”
by Franco Battiato – This song seems to be largely nonsense, but when I first heard it, it occurred to me that the chorus expresses something many people feel – unfortunately. Though the song is by Battiato, who is shown in the video here, musically I much prefer the Neri per Caso cover.
Don Silvestro needs wood to build an ark so he can save the inhabitants of the village. As it happens, Clementina’s father the Mayor is also a lumber dealer and has plenty of wood, but he refuses to believe that God has spoken to Don Silvestro and demands proof – a miracle, in fact.
Don Silvestro causes all the bells in the village to ring by simply pointing at them.
Avete veduto, avete sentito, suono’ le campane col gesto di un dito.
You saw, you heard, he played the bells with the gesture of a finger.
Abbiamo veduto, abbiamo sentito,
We saw, we heard
suono’ le campane col gesto di un dito,
he played the bells with the gesture of a finger.
col gesto di un dito, col gesto di un dito, il gesto di un dito.
with the gesture of a finger…
din do do din don di di do do din don…
[bell sounds]
Don Silvestro:
Ma il campanaro non sono io il campanaro é Domine Iddio
But the bell-ringer isn’t me, the bell-ringer is Lord God
che vuole farvi sapere tramite mio
who wants to show you by way of me
ch’é proprio vero quel che vi dissi io.
that what I said is really true.
coro:
chorus [townspeople]:
Che meraviglia, che cosa strana din don dan do do din don dan
What a marvel, what a strange thing [bell sounds]
questo concerto per prete e campana din don dan do do din don dan
this concert for priest and bells
il Sindaco:
the Mayor:
Ma se tutto sto scampanamento piu’ che un miracolo
But what if all this ringing rather than a miracle
fosse uno stupido scherzo – di chi? – del vento;
was a stupid joke – by whom? – of the wind
ma se tutto questo mistero piu’ che un miracolo
What if all this mystery rather than a miracle
fosse una gabola fatta, inventata – da chi? – dal clero.
was a trick done, invente – by whom? – by the priest
coro: Riprova un po’, riprovaci un po’, fagli vedere se é miracolo o no.
chorus: Try again, try it again, show himn whether it’s a mircale or not
Che meraviglia, che cosa strana questo concerto per prete e campana;
What a marvel, what a strange thing this concert for priest and bells
che cosa stupenda che musica strana questo concerto suona cosi’
What a stupendous thing, what strange music, this concert that sounds like this:
din don din dan din don din dan din don din do do din dan
[bell sounds]
Che gran solista sono io!
What a great soloist I am!
In spite of this miraculous proof that Don Silvestro is in contact with God – and heavy pressure from his family and the villagers (in the song Buttalo Via – “throw it away, it’s no good to you now”) – the mayor refuses to give up his wood for the cause. He is eventually tricked by Don Silvestro (with some help from God) into believing that all his purchasers have cancelled their contracts for the wood.
Still smelling a rat somewhere, the mayor threatens to contact the authorities to have Don Silvestro arrested for fraud or declared insane. God has warned Don Silvestro that it is imperative that no one outside the village know of the impending flood. The villagers lock up the mayor to keep him from spreading the news.
Having sent Clementina home from the confessional, Don Silvestro returns to his evening milk. The telephone rings. The voice on the line is God, who says that he is not happy with the way things are going on Earth, and has decided to send another flood. Don Silvestro is to build an ark… At the end of conversation, after the Lord has hung up, Don Silvestro freaks out.
