'O ccafe' - Coffee

'O llatte è bbuono e 'a ciucculata è ddoce eppure 'a cammumilla bbene fa rinfresca ll'orzo e 'o vino fa felice e sulo ll'acqua 'a sete fa passa' Ma 'nu milione 'e ggente 'e Napule comm'a mme nun vonno sape' niente e campano co ccafe'... Ah! che bello 'o ccafe'! Sulo a Napule 'o ssanno fa' e nisciuno se spiega pecche' e' 'na vera specialita' ah Ah! c'a ddore 'e ccafe' ca se sente pe' 'sta citta' e 'o nervuso nervuso comm'e' ogni tanto so vva a piglia' Comme nasce tu siente 'o bebbe' ca dice: "Ngue ngue' 'nu poco 'e ccafe'!" E ll'Inglese se scorda do the' si vene a sape' n'espresso che d'e' Ah! che bello 'o ccafe'! Sulo a Napule 'o ssanno fa' e accussi' s'e' spiegato ppecche' ca pe' tutta jurnata na tazza po' n'ata s'accatta se scarfa e se veve 'o ccafe' Pe' vevere 'o ccafe' se trova 'a scusa: Io ll'offro a 'n'ato e 'n'ato ll'offre a me... Nisciuno dice "no" pecche' è n'offesa: so' gia' sei tazze e so'nghe appena 'e ttre... Ma mentre faccio 'o cunto n'amico mme chiamma: "Gue' e fermate nu mumento e vevimmoce nu... cafe'!" Ah! che bello 'o ccafe'! Sulo a Napule 'o ssanno fa' e accussi' s'e' spiegato ppecche' e' 'na vera specialita' ah Ah! c'a ddore 'e ccafe' ca se sente pe' 'sta citta' e 'o nervuso nervuso comm'e' ogni tanto so vva a piglia' Comme nasce tu siente 'o bebbe' ca dice: "Ngue' ngue' 'nu poco 'e ccafe'!" E ll'Inglese se scorda do the' si vene a sape' n'espresso che d'e' Ah! che bello 'o ccafe'! Sulo a Napule 'o ssanno fa' e accussi' s'e' spiegato ppecche' ca pe' tutta jurnata na tazza po' n'ata s'accatta se scarfa e se veve 'o ccafe'... Che bello... 'o ccafe' 'O ccafe' © 1958 Domenico Modugno and Riccardo Pazzaglia With "'O caffe'," Modugno returned to writing in dialect, this time with a delightful paean to coffee and its exalted place in the culture of Naples.

Milk is good and chocolate is sweet, and even chamomile makes you well; orzo refreshes and wine makes you happy, and only water makes your thirst pass. But a million people in Naples like me don’t want to know anything of it and they live with coffee . . . Ah! How fine the coffee! Only in Naples do they know how to make it; and no one explains why, it’s a true specialty, ah! Ah! What a scent of coffee one smells throughout this city; and the nervous, nervous as they are, every so often go and partake. As soon as it’s born, you hear the baby who says, “Waaa, waaa, a little coffee!” And the English forget about tea if they come to know an espresso, what it is. Ah! How fine the coffee! Only in Naples do they know how to make it. And thus is it explained why here, all day long, a cup, then another, is bought, is heated, and is drunk of coffee. To drink coffee one finds an excuse: I offer it to another and the other offers it to me . . . no one says “no” because it’s an offense: it’s already six cups and it’s just three o’clock . . . But while I take care of the tab, a friend calls me, “Hey! Stop a moment, let’s drink a . . . coffee!” Ah! How fine the coffee! Only in Naples do they know how to make it; and no one explains why, it’s a true specialty, ah! Ah! What a scent of coffee one smells throughout this city; and the nervous, nervous as they are, every so often go and partake. As soon as it’s born, you hear the baby who says, “Waaa, waaa, a little coffee!” And the English forget about tea if they come to know an espresso, what it is. Ah! How fine the coffee! Only in Naples do they know how to make it. And thus is it explained why here, all day long, a cup, then another, is bought, is heated, and is drunk of coffee . . . how fine . . . the coffee. English translation © 2023 Dennis Criteser After the extraordinary success of "Nel blu dipinto di blu" in early 1958, Modugno released a number of singles that also charted well. Later in the year, Fonit released an album of these singles, including "'O caffe'."