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C'é chi mi vuole folle e chi follemente spera che toppi carriera, da sera a mattina si ostina, ficca aghi nella mia bambolina; mina la via che l'anima mia cammina, mi pedina, il fatto é che se sfuggo alla logica tragica é la fine che mi si propina. L'acqua che butti sul mio fuoco diventa benzina, ogni insulto manichino per la mia vetrina, sappi che la mia dottrina se ne fotte di chi sta dopo e chi prima. Chi mi stima mi istiga a stilare sti suoni, sti versi e stikaa! Godo se penso all'amaro che mastica chi pronostica la fine della mia vitalità. Mi piace che mi grandini sul viso la fitta sassaiola dell'ingiuria, l'agguanto solo per sentirmi vivo al guscio della mia capigliatura. Fonda la tua gloria sull'ingiuria, lavati i denti col seltz come Furia, smile, siamo in aria, canta vittoria ma io ti sputerò come un seme d'anguria. C'é penuria di muri adibiti alla memoria, pura vanagloria, fa male come un dente che si caria il mio debole per le vittime della storia; le hanno odiate, umiliate, lasciate alla sorte per fargli la corte dopo la morte. Mi faccio forte di un simile supplizio, ed é per questo che schivo ogni giudizio, ho la riflessione come vizio, il mio fine é di fare di ogni fine un buon inizio, mi sazio di un dizionario vario più dei santi del calendario. Mi piace che mi grandini sul viso la fitta sassaiola dell'ingiuria, l'agguanto solo per sentirmi vivo al guscio della mia capigliatura. Mi piace sapermi diverso, piacere perverso che riverso in versi su fogli sparsi, nei capoversi dei giorni persi nei miei rimorsi, che cosa c'é da aspettarsi da chi come me non sa adeguarsi a sette, mafiette, etichette e se tutti fanno lui smette? Chi manomette le tette della scultura, ne ignora l'amore e la cura, ciocca dopo ciocca mi son fatto sta capigliatura, come un tiranno tra le mura non ho paura, C A P A, no fregatura, monnezza pura, senti che attrezzatura, é la mistura che infuria nella fitta sassaiola dell'ingiuria. Mi piace che mi grandini sul viso la fitta sassaiola dell'ingiuria, l'agguanto solo per sentirmi vivo al guscio della mia capigliatura. Io non sono cambiato il cuore ed i pensieri son gli stessi sul tappeto magnifico dei versi voglio dirvi qualcosa che vi tocchi La fitta sassaiola dell'ingiuria © 2000 Caparezza "La fitta sassaiola dell'ingiuria" takes its title, musical base, and sampled chorus from a verse of "Confessioni di un malandrino" (Confessions of a Rogue) by Angelo Branduardi. Caparezza tells of the strength he has in the face of the insults he receives. |
There are those who want me mad and those who insanely hope my career tops out. Day and night they persist, sticking needles in my dolly. They mine the path my spirit walks on, they shadow me, the fact is that if I evade logic, tragic is the ending inflicted on me. The water you throw on my fire becomes gasoline, every insult a mannequin for my display case, know that my doctrine doesn’t give a fuck about who charts after and who before. Whoever values me inspires me to prepare these sounds, these verses and this shiiiit! I’m delighted if I think of the bitterness that chews up whoever predicts the end of my vitality. I like it that pelting my visage is a driving hail of stones of insult, I seize them just to feel alive inside the shell of my head of hair. Your glory is founded on insult, brush your teeth with seltzer like Fury (the horse), smile, we’re on the air, sing of victory, but I will spit you out like a watermelon seed. There’s a shortage of walls used for remembrance, merely vanity, it hurts like a decaying tooth, my weakness for the victims of history. They hated, humiliated, left them to their destiny to give him his day in court after death. I make myself strong for a similar torture, and for this reason I avoid every judgment, I have reflection as a vice. My aim is to make of every ending a good beginning, I’m satiated with a different dictionary more so than with the saints of the calendar. I like it that pelting my visage is a driving hail of stones of insult, I seize them just to feel alive inside the shell of my head of hair. I like knowing that I’m different, a perverse pleasure that I spill out into verses on scattered sheets, into the paragraphs of lost days, into my regrets. What’s to be expected from one who, like me, doesn’t know how to conform with sects, little Mafiosi, record labels, and if everyone does, he quits? Whoever messes with the tits on a statue ignores the love and the care that went into it. Lock after lock I made myself this head of hair, like a tyrant behind his walls I am not afraid. C A P A, no con, garbage pure and simple, listen what gear, it’s the mix that rages in the driving hail of stones of insult. I like it that pelting my visage is a driving hail of stones of insult, I seize them just to feel alive inside the shell of my head of hair. I am not changed, the heart and the thoughts are the same. On the magnificent tapestry of the verses I want to give you all something that touches you. English translation © 2017 Dennis Criteser Michele Salvemini began his musical career in 1995 as Mikimix, trying unsuccessfully to break into Italy's pop mainstream as a rap artist. From 1998 to 2000 he reworked his image and his music at home in his garage, and ?! presented the fruits of his labors, unveiled under his new nome d'arte - Caparezza, which means "curly head" in his local Molfetta dialect. |
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.
