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Tag Archives: Italian songs
Learn Italian in Song: Tanti Auguri
Tanti Auguri* –– Best Wishes/Happy Birthday
The inimitable Raffaella Carra’.
| 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.” | |
Learn Italian in Song: Centro di Gravita’ Permanente
| 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. | |||
Centro di Gravita’ Permanente |
Permanent Center of Gravity |
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| Una vecchia bretone con un cappello e un ombrello | An old Breton [woman] with a hat and an umbrella | ||
| di carta di riso e canna di bambu` | of rice paper and bamboo cane | ||
| capitani coraggiosi | Captains courageous | ||
| furbi contrabbandieri macedoni | Clever Macedonian smugglers | ||
| gesuiti euclidei | Euclidean Jesuits | ||
| vestiti come dei bonzi per entrare a corte | Dressed like Buddhist monks to go to the court | ||
| degli imperatori della dinastia dei Ming. | of the Emperors of the Ming dynasty. | ||
| ritornello: | refrain: | ||
| Cerco un centro di gravita` permanente | I’m seeking a permanent center of gravity | ||
| che non mi faccia mai cambiare idea | That won’t make me ever change my mind | ||
| sulle cose sulla gente | About things, about people | ||
| avrei bisogno di… | I would need… | ||
| Over and over again. | [surely you don’t need me to translate this line!] | ||
| Per le strade di Pechino erano giorni di maggio | On the streets of Peking there were days of May | ||
| tra noi si scherzava a raccogliere ortiche | We joked among ourselves gathering nettles | ||
| non sopporto i cori russi la musica finto rock | I can’t stand Russian choruses, fake rock music, | ||
| la new wave italiana il free jazz punk inglese | the Italian New Wave, free jazz, English punk | ||
| neanche la nera africana. | nor even the black African. | ||
| (ritornello) | (refrain) | ||
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Aggiungi un Posto a Tavola: Concerto per Prete e Campane
Concert for Priest and Bells
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.
next: Buttalo Via
Aggiungi un Posto a Tavola: Sono Calmo
I’m Calm
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.
| Calmo, mantenere la calma | Calm, maintain calm | |
| Perché se non mi calmo | Because if I don’t calm myself | |
| Mi viene il cardiopalma | I’ll have a heart attack | |
| Calmo! | Calm! | |
| Con la mente tranquilla | With a tranquil mind | |
| Adesso mi preparo | Now I’ll prepare | |
| Un po’ di camomilla* | A bit of camomile [tea] | |
| Eppure il telefono ha squillato | And yet the telephone rang | |
| La voce del Signore m’ha parlato | The voice of the Lord spoke to me | |
| M’ha detto, m’ha detto esattamente | He said to me, he said to me exactly… | |
| Si m’ha detto esattamente | Yes, he said to me exactly… | |
| Che m’ha detto esattamente??? | What did he say to me, exactly? | |
| Aiuto! non ricordo un accidente! | Help! I don’t remember a darn thing! | |
| Calmo! ipersuperstracalmo | Calm! hypersuperextracalm | |
| E per restare piu’ calmo | And to stay calmer | |
| Ora recito un salmo | I’ll recite a psalm | |
| Qui facit misericordiam | … | |
| Calmo io, é una parola | I’m calm, it’s a word | |
| Il Dio che atterra e suscita che affanna e che consola | The God who strikes down and revives and causes to pant and consoles | |
| Ha parlato con me | spoke to me. | |
| Si, vabbé lo so che prima di me, fece un discorso simile a Noé | Yes, okay, I know that before me he made a similar speech to Noah | |
| No eh? | No, eh? | |
| Signore, scusami | Pardon me, Lord. | |
| Grazie, il cuore é regolare | Thank you, the heart is regular [in its beats] | |
| Il polso? Benissimo, cammina | The pulse? Just great, it goes [on] | |
| Adesso, mi posso addormentare | Now I can go to sleep | |
| E venga ben venga domattina | And tomorrow morning will be welcome | |
| Calmo | Calm | |
| Calmo come una salma | Calm as a corpse | |
| Son contento e felice | I’m contented and happy | |
| Son felice e contento | I’m happy and contented | |
| Oramai m’addormento | Now I’ll go to sleep | |
| in una mare di calma | in a sea of calm | |
| Ecco, si m’addormento | See, yes, I’m going to sleep | |
| in un mare di calma | in a sea of calm | |
| Oddio! | Oh, God! | |
| Ho parlato con Dio! | I talked with God! | |
| * camomilla – camomile tea, frequently used as a soothing decoction to help people, particularly children, go to sleep. |