03 December 2012

30 Days of Songs - Day One

Music is a huge part of my life. Not only because I dance but because it defines us. It can define a moment in time, an experience, a person. Music has this way of becoming a part of your soul. It touches you, makes you laugh, makes you cry, soothes you when your angry and picks you up when you are down.

I want to know what YOUR favourite songs are. What moves you? What artist or band is always on your play list?

For me, it's so hard to just pick one. My collection is vast and varied. But I'm going to try to narrow it down to a few of my all-time faves. 

One song that I could listen to forever is called Caruso. It's a song written by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla in 1986. It is dedicated to Enrico Caruso, an Italian tenor. Many well-known singers have done renditions of this song including Andrea Bocelli, Luciano Pavarotti, Julio Iglessias, and Josh Groban. While all these men have done this song justice, my absolute favourite version is sung by French-Canadian Lara Fabian. Her voice and the emotion that she conveys and evokes in the lyrics make my heart swell and gives me goosebumps.


The song is sung in Italian but translation and English subtitles are provided in the above video.

Lyrics with translation:


Italian lyrics
Qui dove il mare luccica
E tira forte il vento
Su una vecchia terrazza
Davanti al Golfo di Surriento

Un uomo abbraccia una ragazza
Dopo che aveva pianto
Poi si schiarisce la voce
E ricomincia il canto

Ritornello:
Te voglio bene assaie
Ma tanto, tanto bene sai
È una catena ormai
Che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai

Vide le luci in mezzo al mare
Pensò alle notti là in America
Ma erano solo le lampàre
E la bianca scia di un'elica

Sentì il dolore nella musica
Si alzò dal pianoforte
Ma quando vide la luna uscire da una nuvola
Gli sembrò più dolce anche la morte

Guardo negli occhi la ragazza
Quegli occhi verdi come il mare
Poi all'improvviso usci una lacrima
E lui credette di affogare

{Ritornello}

La potenza della lirica
Dove ogni dramma è un falso
Che con un po'di trucco e con la mimica
Puoi diventare un altro

Ma due occhi che ti guardano
Così vicini e veri
Ti fan scordare le parole
Confondono i pensieri

Così diventa tutto piccolo
Anche le notti là in America
Ti volti e vedi la tua vita
Come la scia di un'elica

Ma si è la vita che finisce
Ma lui non ci pensò poi tanto
Anzi si sentiva già felice
E ricominciò il suo canto

{Ritornello} x 2
Here, where the sea shimmers
And the wind gusts strongly
On an old terrace
In front of the Gulf of Sorrento

English translation

A man embraces a girl
After she had cried
Then clears his throat (lit: whitens his voice)
And begins the song again

Chorus:
I love you very much
So much, so much, you know
It is a bond from now on
That frees the blood inside the veins, you know

He saw the lights in the middle of the sea
He thought of the nights there in America
But they were only the fishermen's lamps
And the white wake from a propeller

He felt the pain in the music
He rose from the piano
But when he saw the moon emerging from a cloud
Even death seemed sweeter to him

He looked the girl in the eyes
Those eyes, green like the sea
Then suddenly a tear fell
And he believed he was drowning

{Chorus}

The power of opera
Where every drama is a hoax
With a little make-up and with mimicry
You are able to become another

But two eyes that look at you
So close and real
Make you forget the words
Confuse your thoughts

Thus everything becomes small
Even the nights there in America
You turn and see your life
Like the wake from a propeller

But it is life itself that ends
But he did not think about it much then
On the contrary, he was already feeling happy
And began his song again

{Chorus} x 2

Hope you enjoy it! :)


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