Arrivederci Roma

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"Arrivederci Roma"
Song
English titleGoodbye Rome
Music of Italy
General topics
Genres
Specific forms
Gregorian chant
Media and performance
Music awards
Music charts
Music festivals
Music media
Music media in Italy
Nationalistic and patriotic songs
National anthem
"Il Canto degli Italiani"
Other
"La Leggenda del Piave"
Regional music
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"Arrivederci Roma" (English: "Goodbye, Rome") is the title and refrain of a popular Italian song, composed by Renato Rascel, with lyrics by Pietro Garinei and Sandro Giovannini. It was published in 1955 as part of the soundtrack of the Italo-American musical film with the same title, released as Seven Hills of Rome in English.[1] In the movie, the song is interpreted by the leading character, played by the American actor and singer Mario Lanza. Carl Sigman wrote the lyrics for the English language version of the movie.

Another version of the song, with the same melody but a new set of English lyrics by Jack Fishman, was published in 1955 with the title Arrivederci Darling. Both versions of the song, in Italian and English, enjoyed lasting and widespread success in the following years.

The lyrics

Arrivederci (or a rivederci), which literally means "until we see each other again", is a common Italian equivalent of "goodbye". The original lyrics express the nostalgia of a Roman man for the dinners and short-lived love affairs he had with foreign tourists who came to Rome. It recalls the popular legend associated with the Trevi Fountain:[2]

T'invidio turista che arrivi, "I envy you, tourist, you come,
t'imbevi de fori e de scavi you feast on forums and ruins,
poi tutto d'un colpo te trovi then suddenly you discover
fontana de Trevi ch'è tutta pe' te! the fountain of Trevi, which is there all for you.
Ce sta 'na leggenda romana There's a Roman legend
legata a 'sta vecchia fontana attached to this old fountain
per cui se ce butti un soldino by which if you throw in a penny
costringi er destino a fatte tornà then you'll bind Fate to make you come back.
... ...
Arrivederci Roma, Goodbye, Au Revoir... "Goodbye Rome, Goodbye, Au Revoir...
Mentre l'inglesina s'allontana While the English girl departs
un ragazzinetto s'avvicina a little kid comes by
va nella fontana, pesca un soldo, se ne va! goes into the fountain, picks a penny, goes away!
Arrivederci Roma! Goodbye Rome!"

The lyrics of Arrivederci Darling are not a translation:

Arrivederci Darling is my goodbye to you
If I tell your heart we'll meet tomorrow
We will never part with words of sorrow
So I'll always say goodbye this way and I'll be true. [...]

Popularity

The recording of Arrivederci Darling by United Kingdom singer Anne Shelton remained in the UK Singles Chart for 4 weeks (December 17, 1955 to January 7, 1956, peaking at #17).[3] Another recording by Edna Savage was in the UK chart for one week (January 14, 1956, at #19).[2][4]

Recorded versions

"Arrivederci Roma"

"Arrivederci Darling"

Notes and references

  1. ^ Seven Hills of Rome (1959) – Soundtracks from Internet Movie Database
  2. ^ a b Marc De Bruyn (2003), Arrivederci, Roma webpage. Accessed on 2011-01-05.
  3. ^ "Anne Shelton – Arrivederci Darling". Chart Stats.com. Retrieved 2012-06-22.
  4. ^ "Edna Savage – Arrivederci Darling". Chart Stats.com. Retrieved 2012-06-22.
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ [2][dead link]
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