M'hann chiamaa - They Called Me

El pioveva da trii dì S'eri in cà coi mè dolor M'hann ciamaa de, la ringhera Perché gh'era giò, dù sciori per parlamm (a mi?) Hoo miss-sù el mè tirasass Hoo cominciaa a andà-giò di scal E hoo sentii quei oeucc su la mia s'cenna Hoo capii l'era per ti L'ispetor l'era on brav'omm El savea nò 'me comincià "...so' disgrazie 'e chillo ambiente Voi sapete..." Ma s'te voeuret savè, cosa? Che ròba? Semm rivaa a destinazion De dree mi, davanti lù E t'hoo vista smorta de fà compassion ai sass Sotta on brutt lenzoeu bianch E te s'eret propri ti Hoo sentii strengiom el coeur Stess cavej, la stessa boca granda El stess fà de toeu-in-gir semper la gent! E m'hann ditt che t'hann trovaa T'hann trovada su i Bastion Mi gh'hoo dii che l'è nò vera No, che te s'eret minga ti... Mi gh'hoo dii che l'è nò vera Che te s'eret minga ti... M'hann chiamaa © 1964 Enzo Jannacci

It rained for three days; I was home with my sorrow . . . They called me from the railing because below there were two gentlemen to speak with me . . . to me? I put on my raincoat, I began to descend the stairs and I felt those eyes on my back: I understood – it was about you. The inspector was a good man; he didn’t know how to start: “They are misfortunes of that milieu: you know . . .” But what do you want to know? What crap! We arrived at the destination, me behind, them in front, and I saw you pallid as to get sympathy from the stones under an ugly white sheet. And it was really you. I felt a tug at my heart: same hair, same large mouth, same appearance as the one who teases people. And they told me that they found you, they found you on the Bastions. I told them that it’s not true: no, that it wasn’t you. I told them that it’s not true: that it wasn’t you. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser La milano di Enzo Jannacci was released in 1964. Most of the songs are in the local dialect of Milan. Jannacci studied music at the Milan Conservatory, and he subsequently fell in love with jazz, and played piano with Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, and Chet Baker. He also was part of the early rock 'n' roll scene in Italy, playing in Adriano Celentano's Rock Boys in 1957 and then forming his own duo with Giorgio Gaber in 1959, I Due Corsari. He really found his artistic voice when he started performing at the famed Derby Club in Milan in 1963, collaborating with others (like Dario Fo) in a very vibrant and diverse creative scene. This first album, reflecting cabaret and French chanson influences, is a real gem and was followed by a couple dozen more over the subsequent decades.