I love this Italian song passionately for it’s emotionally-driven and heart-wrenching. To be frank, I sometimes shed tears every time I listen to "Caruso" (Hey, the lyric speaks for itself). Speaking of Caruso, I’ve a friend who named her feline companion after the song, or maybe the most famous Italian tenor, Enrico Caruso (to be more precise and accurate, right Shirley?). Just to make the story short, the song "Caruso" is pensively composed by a reputable Italian singer-songwriter and musician, Lucio Dalla in 1986. He then dedicated the song to Enrico Caruso (1873 - 1921), but the maestro didn’t have the opportunity to "exploit" his vocal cords to sing it. This is so, so unfortunate. He’s a best-known operatic star of his era. Well c’est la vie.
Here are the lyrics of the song "Caruso", I hope you might find it wrenchingly intriguing.
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
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 lampare 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
Te voglio bene assaie ma tanto tanto bene sai
È una catena ormai che scioglie il sangue dint’e vene sai
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
Cosi diventa tutto piccolo anche le notti là in America
Ti volti e vedi la tua vita come là 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
Te voglio bene assaie ma tanto tanto bene sai
È una catena ormai che scioglie il sangue dint’e vene sai
Te voglio bene assaie ma tanto tanto bene sai
È una catena ormai che scioglie il sangue dint’e vene sai
(Translation)
Here, where the sea shines
and the wind howls,
on the old terrace beside the gulf of Sorriento,
a man embraces a girl
he wept after,
then clears his throat and continues the song:
I love you very much, very, very much, you know;
it is a chain by now that melts the blood inside the veins, you know…
He saw the lights out on the sea,
thought of the nights there in America,
but they were only the fishermen’s lamps
and the white wash astern.
He felt the pain in the music
and stood up from the piano,
but when he saw the moon emerging from a cloud
death also seemed sweeter to him.
He looked the girl in the eyes,
those eyes as green as the sea.
Then suddenly a tear fell
and he believed he was drowning.
I love you very much, very, very much, you know,
it is a chain by now that melts the blood inside the vein you know…
The power of opera,
where every drama is a hoax;
with a little make-up and with mime
you can become someone else.
But two eyes that look at you,
so close and real,
make you forget the words,
confuse your thoughts,
So everything became small,
also the nights there in America.
You turn and see your life
through the white wash astern.
But, yes, it is life that ends
and he did not think so much about it
on the contrary, he already felt happy
and continued his song:
I love you very much, very, very much, you know,
it is a chain by now that melts the blood inside the vein you know…
