Vecchio frac - Old Tailcoat

Nella notte mentre tutti dormono Solo un uomo cammina per le strade È un uomo in frac È giunta mezzanotte Si spengono i rumori Si spegne anche l'insegna Di quell'ultimo caffè Le strade son deserte Deserte e silenziose Un'ultima carrozza Cigolando se ne va Il fiume scorre lento Frusciando sotto i ponti La luna splende in cielo Dorme tutta la città Solo va un uomo in frac Ha il cilindro per cappello Due diamanti per gemelli Un bastone di cristallo La gardenia nell'occhiello E sul candido gilet Un papillon Un papillon di seta blu S'avvicina lentamente Con incedere elegante Ha l'aspetto trasognato Malinconico ed assente Non si sa da dove vien Né dove va Chi mai sarà Quell'uomo in frac? “Buon nuite, bonne nuite Buon nuite, bonne nuite Buona notte” Va dicendo ad ogni cosa Ai fanali illuminati Ad un gatto innamorato Che randagio se ne va È giunta ormai l'aurora Si spengono i fanali Si sveglia a poco a poco Tutta quanta la città La luna s'è incantata Sorpresa ed impallidita Pian piano Scolorandosi nel cielo sparirà Sbadiglia una finestra Sul fiume silenzioso E nella luce bianca Galleggiando se ne van Un cilindro Un fiore e un frac Galleggiando dolcemente E lasciandosi cullare Se ne scende lentamente Sotto i ponti verso il mare Verso il mare se ne va Chi mai sarà, chi mai sarà Quell'uomo in frac? Adieu, adieu, adieu, adieu Addio al mondo Ai ricordi del passato Ad un sogno mai sognato Ad un attimo d'amore Che mai più ritornerà "Vechio frac" © 1955 Domenico Modugno "Vechio frac" became one of Modugno's most well-known songs and was the first one written in Italian, not in dialect. The song was inspired by the death of the Italian nobleman and jetsetter Raimondo Lanza di Trabia after he fell from a window of a hotel in Rome in 1954, widely suspected, but never confirmed, to be an act of suicide.

In the night while everyone is sleeping, only a man walks through the streets, he’s a man in a tailcoat. Midnight arrived, the noises are turning off along with the sign of that last café. The streets are deserted, deserted and silent, one last carriage, creaking, goes away. The river flows slowly, rustling under the bridges. The moon shines in the sky, the entire city sleeps. Only a man in tailcoat goes about. He sports a top hat, two diamonds for cufflinks, a crystal cane, a gardenia in his eyelet, and on his white vest a bowtie, a bowtie of blue silk. He approaches slowly, with an elegant gait. He has a dreamy look, melancholy and absent. It’s unknown where he comes from and where he’s going. Who could it ever be, that man in the tailcoat? “Buon nuite, bonne nuite, buon nuite, bonne nuite, good night,” he goes, speaking to everything, to the illuminated streetlights, to a lovesick cat, a stray, that goes away. Now the dawn has come, the streetlights go off, as awakens little by little the entire city. The moon is enchanted, surprised and turned pale, ever so slowly fading in the sky, it will disappear. A window yawns over the silent river, and in the white light, floating, goes by a top hat, a flower, and a tailcoat. Floating sweetly and letting itself be cradled, it goes slowly under the bridges toward the sea, toward the sea it takes its leave. Who could it be, who could it be, that man in the tailcoat? Adieu, adieu, adieu, adieu, farewell to the world, to the memories of the past, to a dream never dreamed, to a moment of love that will never again return. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser "Vecchio frac" is the A-side of a single for the label RCA Italia, released in September, 1955. The song was more successful than previous releases. "Frac" was spelled differently in different releases, and the song was also released as "L'uomo in frack." In the very first release, Italian censors would not accept the last line ("to a moment of love that will never again return") because it referred to amorous physical contact and was therefore immoral; Modugno changed it to "to a wedding gown, his first and last love."