|
Vorrei entrare dentro i fili di una radio E volare sopra i tetti delle città Incontrare le espressioni dialettali Mescolarmi con l’odore dei caffè Fermarmi sul naso dei vecchi mentre leggono i giornali E con la polvere dei sogni volare e volare Al fresco delle stelle, anche più in là Sogni, tu sogni nel mare dei sogni. Vorrei girare il cielo come le rondini E ogni tanto fermarmi qua e là Aver il nido sotto i tetti al fresco dei portici E come loro quando è la sera chiudere gli occhi con semplicità. Vorrei seguire ogni battito del mio cuore Per capire cosa succede dentro e cos’è che lo muove Da dove viene ogni tanto questo strano dolore Vorrei capire insomma che cos’è l’amore Dov’è che si prende, dov’è che si dà Sogni, tu sogni nel cielo dei sogni Le rondini © 1990 Lucio Dalla |
I’d like to enter into the wires of a radio and fly over the rooftops of the cities, encounter some small talk in the local dialect and intermingle with the smell of coffee, to stop on the noses of the old ones while they read their newspapers, and with the dust of dreams, to fly and to fly into the coolness of the stars, even beyond. You dream, you dream in a sea of dreams. I’d like to wander the heavens like the swallows and every now and then pause here and there, to have a nest under the roofs in the coolness of the porticoes and, like the swallows, when the evening comes, close my eyes in simplicity. I’d like to follow every beat of my heart, to understand what goes on inside and what it is that moves it, and where this strange hurt comes from every now and again; I’d like to understand, I guess, what love is, where it is that it’s taken and where that it's given. You dream, you dream in a sky of dreams English translation © 2021 Dennis Criteser Cambio (Change) is Dalla's thirteenth studio album, released in 1990. It reached platinum status, selling more than a million copies. The album cover shows Dalla at 10 years of age with his mother and cousin at a dance hall in 1953. |
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.
