Same Beach, Same Sea

There’s not much to this song: apparently, the singer wants to relive last year’s summer fling. But it’s also a profound statement of traditional Italian vacation habits: the same sea, the same beach, practically the same ombrellone (beach umbrella – which you rent, along with the lounge chairs and a patch of sand to call your own, by the day, week, or month), year after year after year.

Per quest’anno non cambiare		For this year, don’t change
stessa spiaggia stesso mare		same beach, same sea
per poterti rivedere		To be able to see you again
per tornare per restare insieme a te		to come back to stay together with you
e come l’anno scorso		And like last year
sul mare col pattino*		on the sea with the boat
vedremo gli ombrelloni		We’ll see the umbrellas
lontano lontano		far, far away
nessuno ci vedra’ vedra’ vedra’		no one will see us, see, see

* A pattino is a double-hulled rowboat you can rent on most beaches. Nice for going some distance from the shore for privacy, tanning, and swimming, and easy for an amateur to manage – you don’t have to worry about them tipping over. Traditionally they were made of wood (above).

…but these days they tend to made of be fiberglass:

The one shown above is used by the lifeguard if he needs to reach somebody far from the beach in a hurry. (Sometimes they row around warning swimmers if the weather is changing and people need to get out of the water.)