lunedì 25 ottobre 2010

La donna cannone ~ The cannon woman

For my first translation, I'd like to write about the most famous song by Francesco De Gregori: La donna cannone (1983, music and lyrics © by Francesco De Gregori and RCA Italy). This is one of my favourite italian songs, and probably the more beautiful song writted by De Gregori.

Listen this song on YouTube!

Italian lyrics:

Butterò questo mio enorme cuore tra le stelle un giorno,
giuro che lo farò,

e oltre l'azzurro della tenda, nell'azzurro io volerò.
Quando la donna cannone d'oro e d'argento diventerà,
senza passare dalla stazione l'ultimo treno prenderà.
E in faccia ai maligni e ai superbi il mio nome scintillerà,
dalle porte della notte il giorno si bloccherà,
un applauso del pubblico pagante lo sottolineerà
e dalla bocca del cannone una canzone suonerà...

E con le mani amore, per le mani ti prenderò
e senza dire parole nel mio cuore ti porterò
e non aver paura se non sarò come bella come dici tu
ma voleremo in cielo in carne ed ossa, non torneremo più.
E senza fame e senza sete,
e senza aria e senza rete voleremo via...
 

Così la donna cannone, quell'enorme mistero volò,
sola verso un cielo nero s'incamminò.
Tutti chiusero gli occhi nell'attimo esatto in cui sparì,
altri giurarono e spergiurarono che non erano mai stati lì...


E con le mani amore, per le mani ti prenderò
e senza dire parole nel mio cuore ti porterò
e non aver paura se non sarò come bella come vuoi tu
ma voleremo in cielo in carne ed ossa, non torneremo più...
E senza fame e senza sete
e senza aria e senza rete voleremo via...


English translation:

One day I'll throw my huge heart in the stars,
I swear I will do,

and behind the blue of the tent, in the blue I'll fly.
When the Cannon Woman will become of gold and silver,
without entering in the station,
she'll catch the last train.
And my name will sparkle on evil and arrogant men,
the day will stop at the gates of the night,

an applause by the paying public will underline it
and from the mouth of the cannon a song will play...

And with my hands I'll grab you by yor hands,
and without a word i'll bring you to my heart,
and don't be afraid if i'll not be beautiful as you think,
but we will really fly in the sky, we'll never come back.
And without hunger nor thirst,
and without wings nor net we'll fly away...
 

So the Cannon Woman, that huge mistery flew,
she steered towards a black black sky.
Everybody closed their eyes exactly in the moment when she disappeared,
other people swore and perjured they never stayed there...


And with my hands I'll grab you by yor hands,
and without a word i'll bring you to my heart,
and don't be afraid if i'll not be beautiful as you want,
but we will really fly in the sky, we'll never come back.
And without hunger nor thirst,
and without wings nor net we'll fly away...


Comment:

With this song, De Gregori was able to describe a love story in a very simple way, without banality or too honeyed sentences, a mistake that happens too many times in love songs.
The author was inspired by a news item: he red about a circus being on the brink of bankrupt because of the elopement of the Cannon Woman, the bigger actractive of the "freakshow".
The woman talks about her elopement and her need of love and normal life, even if it's not a beauty ("
beautiful as you think", "beautiful as you want"), escaping from her label of "freak" ("my name will sparkle on evil and arrogant men"), because she doesn't ever want to be the laughing stock of "the paying public".
The song also accuses people that don't want to recognize that "freaks" are normal as any other, they "close their eyes" and don't want to admit that love is possibile also for someone is not like them ("swore and perjured they never stayed there").

1 commento:

  1. Thanks for your interpretation of the meaning. Its a beautiful song which take you where you have been and not aware of what happened in that love story.

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