Francesco De Gregori
Ninetto e la colonia lyrics with English translation
- Language
- Italian
- Level
- Intermediate
- Released
- 1976
- Genre
- Pop
- Length
- 2:53
La notte si annunciava chiara
The night announced itself clear
La sera era serena
The evening was serene
La gente nel cinema assisteva seria
The people in the cinema watched seriously
Al magico "Quattro per quattro" del circo di Brema
The magical 'Four by Four' of the Bremen circus
Nel cielo all'improvviso si aprì un lampo
In the sky, suddenly a flash opened up
La pellicola di colpo si spezzò
The film abruptly broke
E apparve all'improvviso sullo schermo
And suddenly appeared on the screen
Un pellegrino vestito di chiffon
A pilgrim dressed in chiffon
E il silenzio piombò come un veleno
And silence fell like a poison
E tutti cominciarono a pregare
And everyone began to pray
Levato il piccolo Ninetto scemo che continuò a giocare
Lifted the little Ninetto fool who kept on playing
Con una mano dentro ai pantaloni
With one hand inside his pants
E un piede leggermente sollevato
And one foot slightly lifted
Urlò nel cinema la sua domanda
He shouted his question in the cinema
"Chi è che ti ha mandato?"
"Who sent you?"
E il pellegrino si guardò le unghie e disse
And the pilgrim looked at his nails and said
"Così sia, facciamo presto
"So be it, let's make it quick
Chi mi manda non parla questa lingua
Who sends me doesn't speak this language
E non importa che sappiate il resto
And it doesn't matter that you know the rest
È troppo tempo che cammino
I've been walking too long
Vengo dalla montagna e vado al mare
I come from the mountain and I'm headed to the sea
È troppo tempo che cammino
It's been too long that I've been walking
E questa sera mi vorrei fermare"
And tonight I would like to stop
E tre angeli nella notte
And three angels in the night
Con le catene sotto il giaccone
With chains under the coat
Facevano la guardia al mistero
Were guarding the mystery
Come rondini sul balcone
Like swallows on the balcony
E nella notte alle loro spalle
And in the night behind them
Le loro voci diventavano fumo
Their voices turned into smoke
Qualcuno cominciava a aver paura
Someone was starting to feel afraid
Ma non parlava nessuno
But nobody was talking
E dietro un fondale di stelle
And behind a backdrop of stars
Gli impiegati della compagnia
The company clerks
Rubarono tutta la frutta dagli alberi
Stole all the fruit from the trees
E la portarono via
And took it away
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Key vocabulary
- notte
- nightA1
- annunciava
- announced
- chiara
- clearA1
- sera
- eveningA1
- serena
- sereneB1
- gente
- peopleA1
- assisteva
- attended
- seria
- seriousA2
- magico
- magicB1
- quattro
- fourB1
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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.