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Come avranno fatto i folli di un tempo Che a volte intravedevano la Triade Solare. Senza fantasie per la testa Vincendo la stanchezza imparavano a volare. Sui pendii dei monti tra le nevi Incontro a stelle giovani Se ne andavano a invecchiare. Nei deserti caldi senza freni Oltre gli organi di senso Trovavano il loro piacere. Per cambiare non basta una vita. Certe volte il vento mi sfiora. Quante passioni mi scavano ancora. Tra polvere e diamanti sempre cammineremo. Sopra un dirigibile e su navi Sorvolerò le isole E me ne andrò per mari, porterò con me soltanto una radio che da sempre mi fa sognare e sapere se posso tornare. Ma non conto il passare degli anni, guardo avanti e la fine non la vedo. Calma e tristezza mi scavano ancora. Tra polvere e diamanti sempre cammineremo. Polvere e diamanti © 1999 Juri Camisasca |
As had done the crowds of yore, who sometimes glimpsed the Solar Triad, without fantasies for the mind, conquering tiredness, they learned to fly. On the mountain slopes amid the snows I encounter young stars, they went away to grow old. In the hot deserts, unfettered, beyond the sensory organs, they found their pleasure. To change, one life is not enough. Sometimes the wind touches me. How many passions dig away at me still. Amongst dust and diamonds we will always walk. Over a dirigible and on ships I will fly over the islands and I’ll leave for the seas, I’ll carry with me only a radio that has forever made me dream and know if I can return. But I don’t count the passing of the years, I look ahead and the end I do not see. Calm and tiredness dig away at me still. Amongst dust and diamonds we will always walk. English translation © 2021 Dennis Criteser Arcano enigma, released in 1999, was produced by Franco Battiato and has electro-pop sonorities that will be familiar to fans of '90s-era Battiato. The album has several songs with lyrics taken directly from St. Augustine's Confessions. |
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.
