Bella ciao
Bella ciao is an Italian partisan song of the World War II. The origins of the song are uncertain. The music seems to come from a predating folk song and the author of the lyrics is unknown.
Italian Lyrics
- Una mattina mi son' svegliato,
- o bella, ciao! bella, ciao! bella, ciao, ciao, ciao!
- Una mattina mi son' svegliato
- ed ho trovato l'invasor.
- O partigiano, portami via,
- o bella, ciao! bella, ciao! bella, ciao, ciao, ciao!
- O partigiano, portami via,
- ché mi sento di morir.
- E se io muoio da partigiano,
- o bella, ciao! bella, ciao! bella, ciao, ciao, ciao!
- E se io muoio da partigiano,
- tu mi devi seppellir'.
- Mi seppellirai lassù in montagna,
- o bella, ciao! bella, ciao! bella, ciao, ciao, ciao!
- Mi seppellirai lassù in montagna
- sotto l'ombra di un bel fior'.
- Tutte le genti che passeranno
- o bella, ciao! bella, ciao! bella, ciao, ciao, ciao!
- Tutte le genti che passeranno
- mi diranno «Che bel fior'!»
- «E questo è il fiore del partigiano»,
- o bella, ciao! bella, ciao! bella, ciao, ciao, ciao!
- «E questo è il fiore del partigiano
- morto per la libertà!»
English translation
Note: rhymes could not be rendered in English, and several short Italian words (bella, ciao) translate into long English words (beautiful, goodbye), so that the result is quite "heavier" than in the original version.
- This morning I awakened
- Oh Goodbye beautiful Goodbye beautiful Goodbye beautiful Goodbye Goodbye
- This morning I awakened
- And I found the invader
- Oh partisan carry me away
- Oh Goodbye beautiful Goodbye beautiful Goodbye beautiful Goodbye Goodbye
- Oh partisan carry me away
- Because I feel death approaching
- And if I die as a partisan
- Oh Goodbye beautiful Goodbye beautiful Goodbye beautiful Goodbye Goodbye
- And if I die as a partisan
- Then you must bury me
- Bury me up in the mountain
- Oh Goodbye beautiful Goodbye beautiful Goodbye beautiful Goodbye Goodbye
- Bury me up in the mountain
- Under the shade of a beautiful flower
- And those who shall pass
- Oh Goodbye beautiful Goodbye beautiful Goodbye beautiful Goodbye Goodbye
- And those who shall pass
- Will tell you what a beautiful flower it is
- This is the flower of the partisan
- Oh Goodbye beautiful Goodbye beautiful Goodbye beautiful Goodbye Goodbye
- This is the flower of the partisan
- Who died for freedom
Music file
(MIDI File)
External links
- Two English versions of Bella Ciao
- Collection of Bella Ciao mp3s
- A slightly different Italian version from the website of the Associazione Nazionale Partigiani d'Italia
Chumbawamba Remake
The Anarchist punk/pop group Chumbawamba released a contextually similar song for the anglosphere with the same refrain and title (in Italian), but completely different structure and lyrics. This musical adaptation was based on anarchist peers Dog Faced Hermans version, released as single in 1988, though the lyrics was sung as the original in Italian.
Tom Frampton and Mark Gunnery, members of the Riot Folk collective, have each done their own version of the song as well, based on the lyrics by Chumbawamba.