Francesco De Gregori
La casa di Hilde lyrics with English translation
- Language
- Italian
- Level
- Intermediate
- Released
- 1973
- Genre
- Pop
- Length
- 4:41
L'ombra di mio padre due volte la mia
My father's shadow twice my own
Lui camminava ed io correvo
He walked and I ran
Sopra il sentiero di aghi di pino
Along the path of pine needles
La montagna era verde
The mountain was green
Oltre quel monte il confine
Beyond that mountain lies the border
Oltre il confine chissà
Beyond the border, who knows
Oltre quel monte la casa di Hilde
Beyond that mountain, Hilde's house
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Io mi ricordo che avevo paura
I remember I was scared
Quando bussammo alla porta
When we knocked on the door
Ma lei sorrise e ci disse di entrare
But she smiled and told us to come in
Era vestita di chiaro
She was dressed in light
E ci mettemmo seduti
And we sat down
Ad ascoltare il tramonto
To listen to the sunset
Hilde nel buio suonava la cetra
Hilde played the harp in the dark
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
E nella notte mio padre dormiva
And in the night my father was sleeping
Ma io guardavo la luna
But I was watching the moon
Dalla finestra potevo toccarla
From the window, I could touch her
Non era più alta di me
She was no taller than me
E il cielo sembrava più grande
And the sky seemed so much bigger
Ed io mi sentivo già uomo
And I already felt like a man
Quando la neve scese a coprire la casa di Hilde
When the snow fell to cover Hilde's house
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Il doganiere aveva un fucile
The customs officer had a rifle
Quando ci venne a svegliare
When he came to wake us up
Disse a mio padre di alzare le mani
He told my father to raise his hands
E gli frugò nelle tasche
And he rummaged through his pockets
Ma non trovò proprio niente
But he found absolutely nothing
Solo una foto ricordo
Only a keepsake photo
Hilde nel buio suonava la cetra
Hilde played the lyre in the dark
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Il doganiere ci strinse la mano
The customs officer shook our hand
E se ne andò desolato
And walked away disheartened
E allora Hilde aprì la sua cetra
And then Hilde opened her lyre
E tirò fuori i diamanti
And pulled out the diamonds
E insieme bevemmo del vino
And together we drank wine
Ma io solo mezzo bicchiere
But I only had half a glass
Quando fu l'alba lasciammo la casa di Hilde
When dawn came, we left Hilde's house
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Oltre il confine, con molto dolore
Beyond the border, with much pain
Non trovai fiori diversi
I found no different flowers
Ma sulla strada incontrammo una capra
But on the road we met a goat
Che era curiosa di noi
That was curious about us
Mio padre le andò più vicino
My father approached her more closely
E lei si lasciò catturare
And she allowed herself to be captured
Così la legammo a una corda e venne con noi
So we tied her to a rope and she came with us
Hmm, hmm, hmm
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com
Key vocabulary
- ombra
- shadow
- due
- twoA1
- camminava
- walked
- correvo
- ran
- sentiero
- pathB2
- aghi
- needles
- pino
- pineC1
- montagna
- mountainA2
- verde
- greenA2
- quel
- that
Test yourself
How much of La casa di Hilde did you catch?
A quick quiz on the key words from this song.
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.