The Water Flea

Music by Angelo Branduardi, lyrics by Luisa and Angelo Branduardi,
1977

This cheerful, Renaissance/Baroque-inspired tune makes a great kids’ song. It’s an old favorite of mine from when Enrico introduced me to Branduardi’s music during one of my first trips to Italy. A few years later, travelling together across the northern US, we were astonished to hear it in a Muzak version at a truck stop in Pennsylvania.In this (unfortunately poor-quality) video you can see another celebrated aspect of Branduardi: his famous mane of hair (one Italian word for which would be zazzera).

E` la pulce d’acqua		And the water flea
che l’ombra ti rubò		who stole your shadow
e tu ora sei malato		And now you are ill
e la mosca d’autunno		and the autumn fly
che hai schiacciato		that you squashed
non ti perdonerà.		will not forgive you.
Sull’acqua del ruscello		Over the water of the brook
forse tu troppo ti sei chinato,		perhaps you leaned too far
tu chiami la tua ombra,		You [can] call your shadow
ma lei non ritornerà.		but she won’t return .
E` la pulce d’acqua		And the water flea
che l’ombra ti rubò		who stole your shadow
e tu ora sei malato		And now you are ill
e la serpe verde		and the green serpent
che hai schiacciato		that you squashed
non ti perdonerà.		Will not forgive you.
E allora devi a lungo cantare		And now you must sing for a long time
per farti perdonare		To be forgiven
e la pulce d’acqua che lo sa		And the water flea who knows
l’ombra ti renderà.		Will return your shadow.