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Ti hanno visto bere a una fontana che non ero io ti hanno visto spogliata la mattina, birichina biricò. Mentre con me non ti spogliavi neanche la notte, ed eran botte, Dio, che botte ti hanno visto alzare la sottana, la sottana fino al pelo. Che nero! Poi mi hai detto "poveretto, il tuo sesso dallo al gabinetto" te ne sei andata via con la tua amica, quella alta, grande fica. Tutte e due a far qualcosa di importante, di unico e di grande io sto sempre in casa, esco poco, penso solo e sto in mutande. Penso a delusioni a grandi imprese a una Tailandese ma l'impresa eccezionale, dammi retta, è essere normale. Quindi, normalmente, sono uscito dopo una settimana non era tanto freddo, e normalmente ho incontrato una puttana. A parte i capelli, il vestito la pelliccia e lo stivale aveva dei problemi anche seri, e non ragionava male. Non so se hai presente una puttana ottimista e di sinistra, non abbiamo fatto niente, ma son rimasto solo, solo come un deficiente. Girando ancora un poco ho incontrato uno che si era perduto gli ho detto che nel centro di Bologna non si perde neanche un bambino mi guarda con la faccia un pò stravolta e mi dice "sono di Berlino". Berlino, ci son stato con Bonetti, era un pò triste e molto grande però mi sono rotto, torno a casa e mi rimetterò in mutande. Prima di salir le scale mi son fermato a guardare una stella sono molto preoccupato, il silenzio m'ingrossava la cappella. Ho fatto le mie scale tre alla volta, mi son steso sul divano, ho chiuso un poco gli occhi, e con dolcezza è partita la mia mano Disperato erotico stomp © 1977 Lucio Dalla |
They saw you drinking from a fountain that was not me. They saw you naked in the morning, naughty nasty. While with me, you didn’t undress not even at night, and they were fights, Lord, what fights. They saw you lift your skirt, the skirt up to the chest. How black! Then you told me, “poor thing, your sex, give it to the toilet.” You went away with your girlfriend, that tall, great piece of ass. Both of you to do something important, unique and great. I always stay home, I go out little, I only think, and stay in my underwear. I think of disappointments, of grand undertakings, of a Thai girl, but the exceptional undertaking, take it from me, is being normal. Therefore, in a normal manner, I went out after a week. It wasn’t so cold and, in a normal manner, I met a prostitute. Aside from the hair, the dress, the fur coat ,and the high heels, she had some problems, serious, too, and she didn’t reason badly. I don’t know if you have present an optimistic, leftist prostitute, we didn’t do anything, but I stayed alone, alone like an idiot. Strolling around a little more, I met a guy who was lost. I told him that in downtown Bologna not even a child gets lost. He looks at me, his face a bit overwhelmed, and tells me, “I’m from Berlin.” Berlin, I was there with Bonetti, it was a little sad and very grand, but I got tired, I return home and I’ll get back in my underwear. Before going up the stairs, I stopped to look at a star. I am very preoccupied, the silence swelled my chapel. I took my steps three at a time, I stretched out on the couch, I closed my eyes a bit and gently started my hand. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser Come è profondo il mare is Dalla's seventh album, released in 1977, and the first following the collaboration with poet Roberto Roversi. In this album, Dalla steps forward for the first time as a lyricist, having learned much by getting inside Roversi's work over the previous four years. |
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.
