Friday, October 8, 2021

Malafemmena - One Bad Woman

Si avisse fatto a n'ato
chello ch'e fatto a mme
st'ommo t'avesse acciso,
tu vuò sapé pecché?
Pecché 'ncopp'a sta terra
femmene comme a te
non ce hanna sta pé n'ommo
onesto comme a me!...

Femmena
Tu si na malafemmena
Chist'uocchie 'e fatto chiagnere...
Lacreme e 'nfamità.

Femmena,
Si tu peggio 'e na vipera,
m'e 'ntussecata l'anema,
nun pozzo cchiù campà.

Femmena
Si ddoce comme 'o zucchero
però sta faccia d'angelo
te serve pe 'ngannà...

Femmena,
tu si 'a cchiù bella femmena,
te voglio bene e t'odio
nun te pozzo scurdà...

Te voglio ancora bene
Ma tu nun saie pecchè
pecchè l'unico ammore
si stata tu pe me...

E tu pe nu capriccio
tutto 'e distrutto,ojnè,
Ma Dio nun t'o perdone
chello ch'e fatto a mme!...

Femmena
Si ddoce comme 'o zucchero
però sta faccia d'angelo
te serve pe 'ngannà...

Femmena,
tu si 'a cchiù bella femmena,
te voglio bene e t'odio
nun te pozzo scurdà...

Totò (Antonio de Curtis) - 1951

"Malafemmena" is an iconic Neapolitan song written by Totò, an actor, comedian, screenwriter, dramatist, poet, and singer known as the Prince of Laughter. He dedicated this song to his wife Diana, who left him in 1950. Though husband and wife were estranged, they had agreed to live together until their daughter reached the age of 18. This arrangement put Diana into a position where she had to endure Totò's many infidelities, which she finally tired of and broke their agreement, leaving to marry another man.

If you had done to someone else
what you did to me
This man would have killed you,
you wanna know why?
Because in this world
women like you
Shouldn’t exist
for an honest man like me

Woman,
you are one bad woman
You’ve made these eyes cry
Tears of disgrace

Woman,
you are worse than a viper
You’ve intoxicated my soul
I can no longer live

Woman,
you’re as sweet as sugar
But this face of an angel
Only serves to deceive

Woman,
you are the most beautiful of women
I love you and I hate you
I can’t get you out of my mind

I still love you,
but you don’t know why
Because the only love
for me was you

And you on a whim
destroyed everything, oh my
But Lord, I can’t forgive you
for what you did to me

Woman,
you’re as sweet as sugar
But this face of an angel
Only serves to deceive

Woman,
you are the most beautiful of women
I love you and I hate you
I can’t get you out of my mind

English translation © 2018 Dennis Criteser

Canzone napoletana piccola enciclopedia ("Neapolitan Song Tiny Encyclopedia") was published in 2015, collecting into six CDs 80 tracks of traditional Neapolitan songs that Massimo Ranieri recorded in collaboration with producer Mauro Pagani. The arrangements are fresh with a contemporary appeal and Ranieri's voice is, as always, passionate and full of life. Pagani is a multi-instrumentalist and co-founder of the influential progressive rock band PFM, and is also well-known for producing Creuza de mä, Fabrizio De André's 1983 world fusion masterpiece. The Neapolitan Song tradition dates back centuries, but the classic period began in the 1830s.