Francesco De Gregori
1940 lyrics with English translation
- Language
- Italian
- Level
- Intermediate
- Released
- 1973
- Genre
- Pop
- Length
- 4:17
Mia madre aspetta l'autobus,
My mother waits for the bus,
nell'estate cominciata da poco
in the summer that just started recently
e il mattino la veste di bianco.
and the morning dresses her in white.
E la gente che legge i giornali
And the people reading the newspapers
sta parlando dell'uomo coi baffi,
are talking about the man with the mustache,
l'altro ieri è arrivato a Parigi.
who arrived in Paris the day before yesterday.
E la gente cammina eccitata,
And the people walk excited,
sta ridendo e pensando al domani,
laughing and thinking about tomorrow,
partiranno con gioia anche loro.
they too will set off with joy.
I soldati bevono birra
The soldiers drink beer.
e corteggiano donne francesi.
and they court French women.
Non è vero che siano diverse.
It's not true that they're different.
Cosa importa se sono lontani
What does it matter if they are far away
dai cortili che li hanno cresciuti,
from the courtyards that raised them,
oramai questa terra è loro.
this land is theirs now.
E cantando, attraversano il ponte
And singing, they cross the bridge
che fra un poco faranno saltare
that they will soon blow up
ed il fiume li guarda passare.
and the river watches them pass.
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Key vocabulary
- aspetta
- waitA1
- autobus
- bus
- estate
- summer
- cominciata
- begun
- mattino
- morningB1
- veste
- dressB1
- bianco
- whiteA1
- gente
- peopleA1
- legge
- lawA1
- uomo
- man
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About this song
Francesco De Gregori is an Italian singer-songwriter and OMRI recipient associated with Italian cantautor music. He is known for writing lyrics that are often described as elegant and for his preference to be credited simply as an artist.