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Mia madre, quando parla di me, dice che son un buon figlio. E i miei fratelli mi chiamano il loro buon fratello. I miei amici, poi, dicono di me che sono un buon amico. Ma essi non sanno...... Che uccido le formiche e do pedate ai cani che ho tante tentazioni, tante tante tante. Che un giorno in una rissa mi sono arreso a un nano, che sento il desiderio di avere tutto, tutto. Che tengo nel mio pugno insetti dell'inferno e sogno dolci ninfe in lunghi laghi bianchi. Che giuro ogni mattina di fare grandi cose ma quando vien la sera che ho fatto? Niente niente. Che gioco sui cavalli il soldo che mi resta e tengo nelle tasche sogni strani sogni. Ma essi non sanno..... Che vedo tanti sguardi che sento tanti passi poi chiudo la finestra e viene strano il buio. E aspetto che qualcuno mi dica piano piano "andiamo in riva al mare ci aspetta una sirena". "andiamo in riva al mare ci aspetta una sirena". Conphiteor © 1961 Piero Ciampi, Gianni Marchetti The Confiteor (Latin for "I confess") is a prayer said in the Penitential Act at the beginning of Mass in the Catholic Church. |
My mother, when she speaks of me, says that I’m a good son. And my brothers call me their good brother. My friends, then, say of me that I’m a good friend. But this they don’t know . . . that I kill ants and give the boot to dogs, that I have so many temptations, many, many, so many. That one day in a brawl I surrendered to a dwarf, that I feel the desire to have everything, everything. That I hold in my fist insects of Hell, and I dream of sweet nymphs in long white lakes. That I pledge every morning to do great things, but when evening comes, what have I done? Nothing, nothing. That I gamble on horses what little money I have left and I keep in my pockets dreams, strange dreams. But this they don’t know . . . that I see so many glances, that I hear so many footsteps, then I close the window, and strange comes the darkness. And I expect that someone will say to me slowly, slowly, “Let’s go to the seashore, a Siren awaits us there.” “Let’s go to the seashore, a Siren awaits us there.” English translation © 2021 Dennis Criteser "Conphiteor" was the first single released by Ciampi, on the Bluebell label in 1961, when he went by the pseudonym Piero Litaliano. Ciampi was invited to Milan and hooked up with the label by Gianfranco Reverberi, whom Ciampi met during their military service. Reverberi was also responsible for bringing Luigi Tenco, Gino Pauli, and Fabrizio De AndrĂ© to Milan to start their recording careers. |
I began exploring Italian popular songs as part of learning Italian. Here are my translations for some of my favorite "canzoni" by Italian singers, songwriters, and bands whose work I admire. It's a work in progress that can serve as a curated introduction to Italian popular music, with an emphasis on the 1950s through the 1990s. If you speak Italian, send me a message if you see lyrics I've misunderstood.
