Alla Renella - At the Renella

Alla Renella Più cresce er fiume e più legna vie' a galla Io più ve guardo e più ve fate bella... Come te pozz' amá Come te pozz' amá S'esco da sti cancelli Quarcheduno l'ha da pagá A ttocchi a ttocchi la campana sona, Li turchi so' sbarcati alla marina. Chi c'ha le scarpe rotte l'arisola, Io già l'ho risolate stammatina. Come te pozz' amá Come te pozz' amá S'esco da sti cancelli Quarcheduno l'ha da pagá S'er papa me donasse tutta Roma E me dicesse, "Lassa andar chi t'ama. E me dicesse, "Lassa andar chi t'ama." Io je direbbe, "No, sarvamo Roma.” Come te pozz' amá Come te pozz' amá S'esco da sti cancelli Quarcheduno l'ha da pagá Alla Renella - traditional "Alla Renella" is a traditional Roman song dating to the 1800s, a time before the stone embankments were built along the Tiber River in Rome. The Renella was probably a bath house - the word "arenella" means the river sand that would be deposited by the Tiber at a bend in the river, forming in dry periods a sandy beach. This version of the song omits a verse that makes it clear that the singer is a prisoner in Rome's Regina Coeli prison next to the Tiber.

At the Renella, the more the river rises, the more wood floats up. I, the more I watch you, the more beautiful you are. How can I love you? How can I love you? If I go out from these gates, Someone must pay. Peal by peal the bell tolls, the Turks have landed at the port. Whoever has worn-out shoes resoles them. I’ve resoled mine already this morning. How can I love you? How can I love you? If I go out from these gates, Someone must pay. If the Pope were to give me all of Rome and tell me, “Let go the one who loves you,” and tell me, “Let go the one who loves you,” I would tell him, “No, we save Rome.” How can I love you? How can I love you? If I go out from these gates, someone must pay. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser "Alla renella" was the A-side of the third 45 put out by the duo Luisa & Gabriela in 1964. Luisa is the daughter of film director Giuseppe De Santis and had a long career as an actress. The song is in the Romanesco dialect of Rome.