Non Dimenticar
"Non Dimenticar" ("Do Not Forget") is a popular song with music by P. G. Redi (Gino Redi, a.k.a. Luigi Pulci), the original Italian lyrics by Michele Galdieri, with English lyrics by Shelley Dobbins.[1] The song was written for the 1951 film Anna (directed by Alberto Lattuada), sung by actress Silvana Mangano.[2]
Title Derivation
The actual verb in Italian is "dimenticare", but Italian often contracts words, especially in lyrics and poetry.[3] Common verbs like fare (to do) and avere (to have) are often spoken and written as far and aver. In a typical example, the renowned playwright and author Pirandello wrote a short story Lumie di Sicilia ("Citrons from Sicily"). In only the twelve pages of the story, twelve infinitives appear without the final letter e: guardar, trattar, vincer, tentennar, abbandonar, spiccicar, correr, star (three times), frenar and accampar. In addition, conjugated verb forms can have their final letter dropped. In this example, parevan(o) and c'eran(o). There's a noun odor(e) and there are two adverbs as well, ancor(a) and fin(o).[4]The hard and fast rule governing the Italian word for ′′sir′′ or ′′mister′′ is ′′signore′′: when used immediately preceding a name, the final ′′e′′ is dropped.[5]
Recordings
- The best-known recording of the song was by Nat King Cole, reaching number 45 on the Billboard magazine charts in 1958.[6]
- Jerry Vale in 1955, his version peaking at number 75 on the pop charts. This version was included in his "Arriverderci, Roma" LP[7]
- Dean Martin on 1962,'s, "Dino: Italian Love Songs"[8]
References
- ^ "BMI publishing credits for "Non Dimenticar"". bmi.com. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- ^ "Anna (1951) Soundtracks". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
- ^ Italian Step by Step, Charles Berlitz, Wynwood Publishing, p.316
- ^ Undici Novelle by Luigi Pirandello, translated and edited by Stanley Appelbaum, Dover Publications Inc.
- ^ Italian Course Book, Living Languages, by Genevieve A. Martin and Mario Ciatti, page 17
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn’s Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 181.
- ^ https://www.discogs.com/Jerry-Vale-Arrivederci-Roma/release/2921646
- ^ https://genius.com/albums/Dean-martin/Dino-italian-love-songs
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