Written for Song Lyric Sunday. This week Jim Adams has asked his
readers to choose a song they remember from their childhood.
Music has always been a huge part of my life since my days growing up in The Bronx. Every self-respecting Italian family has a finished basement … one wide open room with a kitchen, eating area, a space for family activities, a TV area, a bathroom and closed-off workshop. Our television was one of those big console units which also included a radio and stereo with a storage cabinet and looked something like this:
When my sister and I listened to our music, my mother would either be cooking or in her sewing area and Dad would be at the kitchen table working on a crossword puzzle. He claimed he didn’t like our music but he never actually left the room when it was on. However, on Saturday afternoons my father commandeered the radio so he could listen to his favorite Italian show called “Pasquale C.O.D.” I remember it being just like WMCA … the station I listed … only in Italian. Pasquale was the DJ who’d talk about everything from food to politics and play the top hits from Italy and the US.
In 1958 there was a song we heard often and it became a family favorite; it got to be so popular, it wasn’t just limited to Dad’s Italian station. People all around the world could hear Domenico Modugno singing his hit “Nel blu, dipinto di blu“, more commonly known as “Volare”. Modugno composed the music and, along with Franco Migliacci, wrote the lyrics. The single was released on February 1, 1958.
The song spent five non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in August and September 1958, and subsequently became Billboard’s #1 single for the year. In 1959, at the 1st Annual Grammy Awards, Modugno’s recording became the first ever Grammy winner for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. For more info about “Volare”, you can click HERE.
Here is “Nel blu, dipinto di blu (Volare)” by Domenico Modugno. This one’s for you, Dad.
LYRICS
I think a dream like this will never come back
Penso che un sogno così non ritorni mai più
I painted my hands and face blue
Mi dipingevo le mani e la faccia di blu
Then suddenly I was kidnapped by the wind
Poi d’improvviso venivo dal vento rapito
And I began to fly in the infinite sky
E incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito
Flying oh, oh
Volare oh, oh
Singing oh, oh
Cantare oh, oh
In the blue painted blue
Nel blu dipinto di blu
Happy to be up there
Felice di stare lassù
And I flew, I flew happily higher than the sun
E volavo, volavo felice più in alto del sole
And even higher
Ed ancora più su
While the world slowly disappeared far away down there
Mentre il mondo pian piano spariva lontano laggiù
Sweet music played just for me
Una musica dolce suonava soltanto per me
Flying oh, oh
Volare oh, oh
Singing oh, oh
Cantare oh, oh
In the blue painted blue
Nel blu dipinto di blu
Happy to be up there
Felice di stare lassù
But all dreams fade away in the dawn
Ma tutti i sogni nell’alba svaniscon perché
When the moon sets, it takes them with it
Quando tramonta la luna li porta con sé
But I continue to dream in your beautiful eyes
Ma io continuo a sognare negli occhi tuoi belli
Which are blue like a sky studded with stars
Che sono blu come un cielo trapunto di stelle
Flying oh, oh
Volare oh, oh
Singing oh, oh
Cantare oh, oh
In the blue of your blue eyes
Nel blu degli occhi tuoi blu
Happy to be down here
Felice di stare quaggiù
And I continue to fly happily higher than the sun
E continuo a volare felice più in alto del sole
And even higher
Ed ancora più su
While the world slowly disappears in your blue eyes
Mentre il mondo pian piano scompare negli occhi tuoi blu
Your voice is sweet music that plays for me
La tua voce è una musica dolce che suona per me
Flying oh, oh
Volare oh, oh
Singing oh, oh
Cantare oh, oh
In the blue of your blue eyes
Nel blu degli occhi tuoi blu
Happy to be down here
Felice di stare quaggiù
In the blue of your blue eyes
Nel blu degli occhi tuoi blu
Happy to be down here
Felice di stare quaggiù
With you
Con te
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Domenico Modugno/Franco Migliacci
Nel blu, dipinto di blu lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Peermusic Publishing
There were more than 100 different recordings of “Volare” worldwide but my favorite from 1960 was the version by Italian-American pop singer Bobby Rydell (Ridarelli). Even my dad thought he sounded pretty good! His recording reached #4 on the Hot 100 during the summer of 1960, #22 in the UK and #3 in Canada. Here is Bobby Rydell’s version.
Of course, we couldn’t go flying without the wonderful Il Volo (flight) and their rendition of “Volare”. These young vocal sensations came on the scene long after my father passed away; I wonder what he’d think of them. Here is Il Volo.
Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week. Be sure to click the link and check out Jim’s site.
Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎
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