Bella ciao
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Bella ciao" ("Goodbye beautiful!") |
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| Music by | Traditional |
|---|---|
| Lyrics by | Anonymous |
| Language | Italian |
"Bella ciao" is an Italian partisan song of World War II.
Contents |
History [edit]
The song "Bella ciao" was sung by the anti-fascist resistance movement active in Italy between 1943 and 1945. The author of the lyrics is unknown; the music and spirit of the song is based on a folk song sung by rice-weeders on the River Po basin in the early part of the 20th century – "Alla mattina appena alzata". A version of this song was recorded for music researchers by Italian folk singer Giovanna Daffini in 1962.[1] Other similar versions of the antecedents of "Bella ciao" appeared over the years, indicating that "Alla mattina appena alzata" must have been composed in the latter half of the 19th century.[2] The earliest written version is dated 1906 and comes from near Vercelli, Piedmont.[3] Another interpretation of the melody has been given following the discovery in 2006 by Fausto Giovannardi of the CD "Klezmer – Yiddish swing music" including the melody "Dus Zekele Koilen" played in 1919 by Mishka Ziganoff.
Lyrics [edit]
Note: rhymes are not rendered in English in the translation below, and several short Italian words (bella, ciao) translate into long English words (beautiful, goodbye), without keeping meter.
Also, there are several verses which differ in the Italian version, i.e. different ways to sing those verses. Those are written in brackets.
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Alternate translations [edit]
Alternate, less literal and more "singable" translation – which also makes explicit some aspects that are left implicit in the Italian text:
- SWEETHEART GOODBYE
- One morning when I awakened
- Oh beauty bye, beauty bye, beauty bye-bye-bye!
- One morning when I awakened
- I found invaders all around
- Oh partisan, come take me with you
- Oh beauty bye, beauty bye, beauty bye-bye-bye!
- Oh partisan, come take me with you
- Because I feel ready to die
- If I die fighting as a partisan
- Oh beauty bye, beauty bye, beauty bye-bye-bye!
- If I die fighting as a partisan
- You must come and bury me
- Bury me there, up in the mountains
- Oh beauty bye, beauty bye, beauty bye-bye-bye!
- Bury me there, up in the mountains
- Shade my grave with a lovely flower
- So all the people who pass that way
- Oh beauty bye, beauty bye, beauty bye-bye-bye!
- So all the people who pass that way
- Will say "Oh see that lovely flower! – "
- "Ah that's the flower of the partisan fighter – "
- Oh beauty bye, beauty bye, beauty bye-bye-bye!
- "Ah that's the flower of the partisan fighter
- who died for freedom's sake!"
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- Anita Lane's Translation:
Anita Lane's version is unique, as it is both literal, and singable. She has kept "Bella Ciao" phrase untranslated, and this helps the translation to mirror the original theme of the song.
- And in one morning I was awakened
- oh Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
- and in one morning I was awakened
- and found the enemy was here.
- Oh Partisan, take me from this place
- oh Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
- oh Partisan, take me from this place
- because I feel I'm dying here.
- And if I die, up on that mountain
- oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
- and if I die, up on that mountain,
- then you must bury me up there.
- Bury me high up, up on that mountain
- oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
- bury me high up, up on that mountain
- and let the flowers mark my grave.
- Oh Partisan, take me from this place
- oh Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
- oh Partisan, take me from this place
- because I feel I´m dying here.
- Ciao Ciao Ciao
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- Chumbawamba interpretation:
- This is the version sung by the english band chumbawamba
- The world is waking outside my window
- Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
- Drags my senses into the sunlight
- For there are things that I must do
- Wish me luck now, I have to leave you
- Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
- With my friends now up to the city
- We're going to shake the Gates of Hell
- And I will tell them – we will tell them
- Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
- That our sunlight is not for franchise
- And wish the bastards drop down dead
- Next time you see me I may be smiling
- Bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
- I'll be in prison or on the TV
- I'll say, "the sunlight dragged me here!"
International versions [edit]
In addition to the original Italian, the song has been recorded by various artists in many different languages, including Arabic, Bosnian, Breton, Chinese, Croatian, Danish, English, Esperanto, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Japanese, Kabyle, Kurdish, Norwegian, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Tibetan, Tunisian, Turkish, Tagalog and Ukrainian.[citation needed]
- Greek singer Maria Farantouri performed the song in Italian for her 1978 album "Protests songs from around the world".
- Azerbaijani singer Muslim Magomayev performed the song at some of his concerts and he stated that it was Brezhnev's favorite by him.[4]
- A rewritten version of the song can be heard on Chumbawamba's acoustic album "A Singsong and a Scrap".
- Another version of the song was recorded by the punk rock band Dog Faced Hermans[5] on the album "Every Day Time Bomb."
- Former Yugoslav punk rock bands KUD Idijoti and later Goblini recorded their versions of the track.
- Hungarian punk rock band Aurora has performed the song.
- Renowned filk musician Leslie Fish has written and performed several versions of the song, one of which can be found on the album "Smoked Fish".
- Folk artist Mirah lent her voice to this song on her 2004 album To All We Stretch the Open Arm.
- Anita Lane recorded a version in English for her 2001 album "Sex O'Clock".
- Breton folk punk band Les Ramoneurs de menhirs recorded a version in Breton and French but called it BellARB.
- Danish psychedelic rock group Savage Rose have recorded a version of this song on the albums "En Vugge Af Stål" from 1982 and "Ild Og Frihed" from 1989.
- San Francisco punk band La Plebe perform Bella Ciao on their album Brazo en Brazo.
- Singer Manu Chao has also recorded a version of the song.
- American folk/rock band Foolproof Four recorded a version of Bella Ciao in 2011.
- Kurdish singer Ciwan Haco has included the song in his album Çaw Bella 1989 – Bochum – Germany.[6]
- The tune has been copied in a song in the Tollywood movie Business Man starring Mahesh Babu, Music by S.S.Thaman.
- The italian Skapunk-Band Talco recorded the song on their 2006 Album "Combat Circus".
- Konstantin Wecker and Hannes Wader, two german "Liedermacher" performed it live as to hear on the their collaboration album "Was für eine Nacht".
- Turkish band Grup Yorum have recorded a Turkish translation of the song in 1987 album Haziranda Ölmek Zor / Berivan.
- Anglo-American group Morning Bride have played the song live and on the radio.
- Irish band NoLand Folk recorded a version for their 2007 album "Never Going Home".
- Turkish band bANDISTA has recorded a turkish version - "hoscakal" - on their album daima!,2011.[7]
- Bosnian Serb musician Goran Bregovic has recorded one version on his album Champagne for Gypsies, 2012.[8]
- Ukrainian singer Orest Lyutiy - "Не буду більше врагам коритись" (I will never bow again before the enemies). [9]
See also [edit]
- "Bandiera Rossa" - another Italian revolutionary song
- "Fischia il vento" – another song associated with the Italian partisans
- Alexandrov Ensemble – one of the performers of this song
- Hungarian version of the song – a dal Magyar változata.
References [edit]
- ^ Recording made by musicologists Gianni Bosio and Roberto Leydi in 1962. Giovanna Daffini: "Alla mattina appena alzata", from the CD: Giovanna Daffini: L’amata genitrice (1991)
- ^ Bermani, Cesare (2003). "Guerra guerra ai palazzi e alle chiese". Odradek Edizioni.
- ^ D. Massa, R. Palazzi and S. Vittone: Riseri d'al me coeur
- ^ Magomayev interview at "Russian Week", 2005.
- ^ Pyduc.com
- ^ http://ciwan-haco.net/2008/09/02/caw-bella/
- ^ http://tayfabandista.org/
- ^ http://www.goranbregovic.rs/discography.html
- ^ http://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Мухарський_Антон_Дмитрович#.D0.9E.D1.80.D0.B5.D1.81.D1.82_.D0.9B.D1.8E.D1.82.D0.B8.D0.B9:_.D0.90_.D1.8F_.E2.80.94_.D0.BD.D0.B5_.D0.BC.D0.BE.D1.81.D0.BA.D0.B0.D0.BB.D1.8C_.282012.29
External links [edit]
- Rimini.it Bella Ciao and other partisan songs from the website of the Associazione Nazionale Partigiani d'Italia section of Rimini
- Text of Bella ciao in 30 languages, with commentaries
- Alternative histories of Bella ciao
- Ma Belle Adieu, translated and sung in French by Laurence Biasizzo with Pavos Rojos
- Bella ciao – Gómez Naharro at YouTube.com
- Original rice-weeders' song, on which "Bella ciao" was based.
