Song meaning and lyrics: Tu sei lei

Back in December, I asked readers to vote in the poll "Ligabue's Mondovisione: Which song do you want to see next?"

Readers, in general, seemed to be in a romantic mood, overlooking many of the "political" or "rant" songs and opting instead for…

Tu sei lei  
(You are her)

The song itself is light and easy, not straying too far from many of Ligabue's previous offerings.

The video, too, is simple and sweet and shows two guys who stop various women along the streets of Rome and ask to take their pictures.  Watch it now (below) to see what happens (or just to admire the beautiful scenery and diversity of Rome!)

I've reproduced the original lyrics as well as provided an English translation to the right.  

For visual learners, it can be helpful to read along with the lyrics but I do suggest that everybody (regardless of their learning style) listen to the songs several times without looking at the written word. It gives your mind a chance to analyze what it hears and assimilate the sounds without getting bogged down by spelling and orthography "interference" and this will help reinforce the meaning when you learn it later (I promise!)

Dopo tutti questi anni	After all these years
io non smetto di guardarti	I never stop looking at you
qualche volta ancora a bocca aperta.	sometimes still with my mouth agape.
Non finisco di capire	I still don't understand
Non finisci di stupire	You never cease to amaze
come non dovesse mai finire	as if it were never ending.
Vuoi nascondermi i difetti	You want to hide your faults from me
mentre a me piacciono tutti	while I like them all
ma non te lo vuoi sentire dire	but you don't want to hear it.
E ti guardo mentre sogni	And I look at you while you dream
e mi tocca stare fuori	and I have to stay out
e mi tocca solo indovinare.	and I have to just guess.
Dopo tanti anni e un giorno	After many years and a day
quando il mare sembra calmo	when the sea seems calm
vieni fuori ancora tu	you also come out
con quel nome da straniera	with that foreign name
da chi è sempre stata sola	of someone who has always been alone
e da un pò non deve più	and for some time doesn't have to anymore
perché...	because...
Tu sei lei	You are her
Tu sei lei	You are her
fra così tanta gente	out of so many people
Tu sei lei	You are her
Tu sei lei	You are her
e lo sei stata sempre.	and you have always been.
E quegli occhi li conosco	And those eyes I know them
io li ho visti spesso nudi	I've seen them nude often
ma non si vedeva mai la fine	but I never saw the end.
il tuo cuore accelerato	Your accelerated heart
le pupille dilatate	the dilated pupils
e non mi restituisci il cuore.	and you won't give me back my heart.
Dopo tanti anni e un giorno	After so many years and a day
quando il vento sembra fermo	when the wind seems still
vieni fuori sempre tu	You always come out
con quel nome da straniera	with that foreign name
da chi riesce a stare sola	of someone who's able to be alone
ma da un pò non deve più	but for some time doesn't have to anymore
perché...	because…
Tu sei lei	You are her
Tu sei lei	You are her
fra così tanta gente.	out of so many people.
Tu sei lei	You are her
Tu sei lei	You are her
e lo sei stata sempre.	and you have always been.
Se l'universo intero	If the entire universe
ci ha fatto rincontrare	got us to meet again
qualcosa di sicuro vorrà dire.	surely that's saying something.
Tu sei lei	You are her
come sei	as you are
inesorabilmente.	without end.
E mi hai salvato tante volte	And you've saved me many times
da qualche tipo di altra morte	from different types of other death
andando dritta sulla verità	going straight to the truth
e mi regali un altro giorno	and you gift me another day
in cui sembra tutto fermo	in which everything seems still
ma tutto si trasforma	but everything is transformed
tutto si conferma	everything is confirmed
e lasci in giro il tuo profumo	and you leave behind your perfume
come a dirmi "io ci sono"	as if to say "I am here"
come a dirmi "sarò sempre qua"	as if to say "I will always be here"
perchè...	because...
Tu sei lei	You are her
Tu sei lei	You are her
fra così tanta gente.	out of so many people
Tu sei lei	You are her
Tu sei lei	You are her
e lo sei stata sempre.	and you have always been.
Se l'universo intero	If the entire universe
ci ha fatto rincontrare	got us to meet
qualcosa di sicuro vorrà dire.	surely that's saying something.
Tu sei lei	You are her
come sei	as you are
inevitabilmente	inevitably.

Keep listening to the song until the sounds become familiar, and if you can get to the point where you can sing along, that's even better!


Once you've become familiar with the sound and flow, then you can begin to try and understand the meaning.  Use my English translation as a guide to direct you if needed, but do try and decipher the meaning yourself as well.  

Here are some questions that you may find useful in guiding your study:

• What words do I recognize?  Does the translation provided match what I thought the definition was?  If not, is there anything in context which would explain the translation provided?

• Which words do I not recognize?  What part of speech are they? (Noun, verb, adjective, etc.)

• Which tense(s) does the song use?  Is all the action occurring in the present, so it uses the Simple Present?  Or does it change?  (Use the Word Reference Conjugator to look up any verb and it will tell you what tense it is and what the infinitive form of the verb is)

• Comparing the original text with the English translation, can you match words or phrases?  Which lines are translated word-for-word and which vary a bit more?  Can you think of an alternate translation?

These questions are a great start to your own study.. but if there's anything that's unclear or that you'd like explained further… Just ask! (Comment below or use the "Chiedimi" contact form in the righthand sidebar.)

Buon Ascolto!

-Alex

P.S.We'll be covering more songs from the album, so use this link to vote again on Facebook or explore the other song titles here.

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 I already covered the album's first single 'Il Sale della Terra'…in case you missed it:

...

Ligabue- Il Sale della Terra

"Il sale della terra" music video, testo in italiano and lyrics in English.

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Ligabue's Mondovisione: Which songs do you want to see?

UPDATE: Since its release in late November, Mondovisione has had enormous success and garnered many accolades and praise!

Scroll down to see the song titles, play a matching game, and VOTE for which songs you'd like to see covered on VIA OPTIMAE next!

Ligabue's tenth album Mondovisione recently released in Italy.  Many have said it is the most "political" of all his albums but Ligabue sees it as expressing of his sentiments— something he has tried to do in all of his albums.

"Questo non è un disco politico, perché anche le canzoni d'incazzatura sono canzoni sentimentali."

—Luciano Ligabue

"This is not a political album, because even songs about being pissed off are sentimental songs"

The album has been met with enormous success in Italy and I personally can't wait to buy the mp3 version when it becomes available through a US site (so far, I could only find an imported CD available through amazon.com) but I've been enjoying listening online in the meantime:

(Having problems with the embedded player?  Listen on grooveshark.com)

I learned a lot of Italian by listening to Italian songs in general and Ligabue's music in particular.  Going over the song titles and lyrics, there were several that peaked my interest and that I think would be interesting to discuss their meaning and translation.

Explore the song titles and their rough English translations by playing this little timed matching game:

Hint: Game displays 8 of the 14 song titles at a time, so play more than once to see them all, and improve your time! You can also "View this study set" to see them as flashcards or a list.

What do you think?  Let me know which songs interest you the most and we'll cover those first! You can COMMENT on this post below, or vote via FACEBOOK. 

[Note: 'Capo Spartivento' and 'Il suono, il brutto e il cattivo' are instrumental tracks]

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 I already covered the album's first single 'Il Sale della Terra'…in case you missed it:

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Ligabue- Il Sale della Terra

"Il sale della terra" music video, testo in italiano and lyrics in English.

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I'm anxiously awaiting your input! 

VOTE in the comment section of this post or on Facebook!

In the meantime…

Buon ascolto!
Happy listening!

-Alex

More advanced readers may also enjoy:

Mondovisione – Luciano Ligabue: la recensione

A full, song-by-song review in Italian from lamusicarock.com.

"Il sale della terra" by Ligabue: new single & video

New in Italian music:

Ligabue was one of the first Italian artists I discovered when I started learning Italian so I'm always eager to check out his newest releases.

The album Il sale della terra (The salt of the earth) releases November 26.  In the meantime, enjoy the title single which conveniently has the lyrics incorporated directly into the video for us language learners. You can also check out my (rough) English translation side-by-side with the original lyrics below the video.



(For more Liga news check out his official website)

Siamo la sorpresa dietro i vetri scuri  Siamo la risata dentro il tunnel degli orrori  Siamo la promessa che non costa niente  Siamo la chiarezza che voleva molta gente.  Siamo il capitano che vi fa l'inchino  Siamo la ragazza nel bel mezzo dell'inchino  Siamo i trucchi nuovi per i maghi vecchi  Siamo le ragazze nella sala degli specchi.  Siamo il culo sulla sedia, il dramma, la commedia,  il facile rimedio  Siamo l'arroganza che non ha paura  Siamo quelli a cui non devi chiedere fattura.  Siamo....... il sale della terra!  Siamo....... il sale della terra!  Siamo l'opinione sotto libro paga  Siamo le riunioni qui nel retro di bottega  Siamo le figure dietro le figure  Siamo la vergogna che fingiamo di provare.  Siamo il culo sulla sedia, la farsa, la tragedia,  il forte sotto assedio  Siamo la vittoria della tradizione  Siamo furbi che più furbi di così si muore.  Siamo....... il sale della terra!  Siamo....... il sale della terra!  Siamo la freddezza che non ha paura  Siamo quel tappeto steso sulla spazzatura  Siamo la Montblanc con cui ti faccio fuori*  Siamo la risata dentro il tunnel degli orrori.

We are the surprise behind the dark glass We are the laughter inside the tunnel of horrors We are the promise that doesn't cost a thing We are the clarity that many people want We are the captain that bows at you all We are the girl in the middle of a curtsy We are the new tricks for the old magicians We are the girls in the room of mirrors We are the ass in the chair, the drama, the comedy, the easy remedy We are the arrogance that has no fear We are the ones that you needn't ask an invoice from. We are……. the salt of the earth! We are……… the salt of the earth! We are the opinion that's on the payroll We are the meetings in the back room of the store We are the figures behind the figures We are the shame that we fake feeling. We are the ass in the chair, the farce, the tragedy, the fort under siege; We are the victory of tradition We are clever, any cleverer and you’d die. We are……. the salt of the earth! We are……… the salt of the earth! We are the coldness that has no fear We are the rug laid out over the trash We are the Mont Blanc pen with which we do you in* We are the laughter inside the tunnel of horrors.

*I'm not sure, but I think this refers to a Mont Blanc brand pen so I translated it as such.

Interested in hearing more Ligabue?  Listen to Il Sale della Terra and the rest of the album "Mondovisione" in the post here or check out the music player in the sidebar to the right!

Buon Ascolto!
Happy Listening!

-Alex

Neffa - Quando Sorridi: Song Meaning, Lyrics & Present Tense Italian Verbs

The upbeat tune and the simple, straightforward lyrics make Neffa's Quando Sorridi (When you smile) the perfect song to work on your Italian pronunciation as well as see the simple present tense of some common Italian verbs in use.

First, familiarize yourself with the song using this video which includes the lyrics:

(As always, I recommend singing along when you can! It will improve your pronunciation, cadence, and rhythm  so you sound more natural, plus it will help commit vocabulary and expressions to memory!)

Now, let's take a look at the verbs in the song, all of which are in the simple present tense or the infinitive (the unconjugated form of the verb, roughly corresponding to "to + verb" in English and ending in -are, -ere or -ire in Italian.)

I've underlined verbs in the simple present tense... for each:

1. What is the infinitive form? 
2. Is it a regular or irregular verb? 
3. What is the subject of the verb? (Remember, in Italian the subject is rarely expressed with the subject pronoun, and most often determined by the verb ending!)



Need to review some of these concepts?  Try: {How Italian Verbs Work}

Ognuno ha un peso da portare con sé 

non dirmi che tu non lo sai 

Ma più ci pensi e più succede che poi 

finisce che non ce la fai 

Sospesi in volo su una grande giostra al suono della musica 

giriamo io e te 

giriamo io e te 

La stessa vita così amara qualche istante fa 

se solo tu vuoi poi diventa più dolce che mai 

Non lo sai che quando sorridi 

è un attimo 

E così i pensieri più tristi 

svaniscono 

A che serve farsi la vita difficile 

se alla fine è già complicata così com'è 

Ognuno ha un po' amore dentro si sé 

non dirmi che tu non ce l'hai 

Ma più ne chiedi e più non serve perché 

dipende da quanto ne dai 

E poi lasciarti andare fino in fondo alla tua solitudine 

se è quello che vuoi 

se è quello che vuoi 

Ma finché al mondo c'è qualcuno che ci tiene a te 

ricorda se puoi quello è il bene più grande che hai 

Non lo sai che quando sorridi 

è un attimo 

e così i pensieri più tristi 

svaniscono 

a che serve farsi la vita difficile 

se alla fine è già complicata così com'è (x3)

Thanks to angolotesti.it for the song lyrics!

Compare your answers to my list of verbs (complete with the full present tense conjugations and meanings) here:

The Simple Present Tense: I Verbi di 'Quando Sorridi" da Neffa
(link opens PDF on Google drive)

Now, listen to the song again- paying close attention to the verbs.  Do you have a better idea of what is being said and who the singer is "talking" to?

Now let's look at my rough translation of the lyrics in English.  Once you've read through them, listen to the song again and see if you can associate the Italian words with the English translation.  In some cases, you'll see that they correspond word for word, in other cases, the wording changes quite a bit.  Do you agree with the translation?  Anything you would have translated differently?

Neffa- Quando Sorridi Lyrics in English:

Everybody has a weight to carry along
Don't tell me that you don't know
But the more you think about it, the more it happens that
It ends up that you can't handle it.

Suspended on a big merry-go-round to the sound of the music
You and I go around
You and I go around
The same life, that was so bitter just a second ago
becomes sweeter than ever if you just want it to…

Don't you know that when you smile
It takes just a second
And all you're saddest thoughts
Disappear
What's the point of making life difficult
When it's already complicated enough, just as it is

Everybody has a bit of love inside themselves
Don't tell me that you don't have it.
But the more you ask for it the more it doesn't work because
It depends on how much of it you give.
And then you let yourself go to the very depths of your loneliness
If that's what you want
If that's what you want
But as long as in the world there is somebody who cares about you
Remember if you can, that that's the biggest asset you have.

Don't you know that when you smile
It takes just a second
And all you're saddest thoughts
Disappear
What's the point of making life difficult
When it's already complicated enough, just as it is.

Is the song a little clearer?  More meaningful?  What is the message of the song?  Do you agree with it?

To me, the song is a simple reminder that how you react to situations and events in life is important and choosing to smile is a powerful way to instantly improve everything. Life can be difficult at times, but remembering what really counts can provide a little perspective and make even life's complications more enjoyable.

So, keep pressing play.. and Sorridi!

-Alex

*At the time of posting, this song was not available on amazon.com (where I generally buy all of my music) but they do have another, recent Neffa hit: "Molto Calmo" which I also recommend!

Song Lyrics and meaning: L'essenziale by Marco Mengoni

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L'essenziale can be found on the 2013 album #prontoacorrere.

If you follow the Italian music competition, Sanremo, then you already know that the 2013 winner in the "Campioni" category was Marco Mengoni with his song "L'essenziale." What you may not know, however, is all the lyrics to the song and/or what they mean so let's watch a video of the song with the lyrics included. If you can, listen several times and sing along when you feel ready.

Now that you're familiar with it, let's look at the text all at once:

Sostengono gli eroi
"se il gioco si fa duro,
è da giocare!"
Beati loro poi
se scambiano le offese con il bene.
Succede anche a noi
di far la guerra e ambire poi alla pace
e nel silenzio mio
annullo ogni tuo singolo dolore.
Per apprezzare quello che
non ho saputo scegliere.

Mentre il mondo cade a pezzi
io compongo nuovi spazi
e desideri che
appartengono anche a te
che da sempre sei per me
l'essenziale.

Non accetteró
un altro errore di valutazione,
l'amore è in grado di
celarsi dietro amabili parole
che ho pronunciato prima che
fossero vuote e stupide.

Mentre il mondo cade a pezzi
io compongo nuovi spazi
e desideri che
appartengono anche a te.
Mentre il mondo cade a pezzi
mi allontano dagli eccessi
e dalle cattive abitudini,
torneró all'origine,
torno a te che sei per me
l'essenziale

L'amore non segue le logiche
Ti toglie il respiro e la sete.

Mentre il mondo cade a pezzi
io compongo nuovi spazi
e desideri che
appartengono anche a te.
Mentre il mondo cade a pezzi
mi allontano dagli eccessi
e dalle cattive abitudini,
torneró all'origine,
torno a te che sei per me
l'essenziale

Text provided by angolotesti.it (they're my favorite resource for the lyrics to Italian songs!)

What words do you recognize?  Which words don't you understand?  Using a dictionary (I almost always use wordreference.com) make a list of the unknown words.  See if you can identify which part of speech each word is (noun, verb, adjective, pronoun, preposition, etc.) For the verbs, can you tell which tense is used?  Any tenses you haven't studied yet?

Now, take a look at my rough English translation below. Note which words and phrases I translated literally and where I chose to change the wording a bit...  Can you think of other ways to word the expressions in English or do you see anything you would translate differently?


Heroes assert
“if the game is difficult,
then it’s to be played!”
Good for them then
if they mistake harm for good.
It happens also to us
to make war and then yearn for peace
and in my silence
I take away each one of your pains.
In order to appreciate what
I haven’t before known to choose.

While the world falls to pieces
I put together new spaces
and desires that
belong also to you
because you’ve always been to me
what’s essential.

I will not accept
another mistake in judgment
love is capable of
hiding itself behind loving words
that I said aloud before when
they were empty and stupid.

While the world falls to pieces
I put together new spaces
and new desires that
belong also to you
While the world falls to pieces
I move away from the excess
and from the bad habits,
I’ll return to the origin
I return to you because you are for me
what’s essential.

Now, listen to the song again.  Sometimes, I find that the mood of the song has changed once I understand the words more fully, is that the case with you?  Do you like the song any more or any less now?

Keep listening and singing along and stay tuned (pun intended) for more Song exercises... I promise, it's one of the best ways to learn a language!

Buon ascolto! 
—Alex

Where to find #prontoacorrere by country:

Mp3 album (or individual tracks): (uk) ~ (fr) ~ (de) 

CD #prontoacorrere: (us) ~ (uk) ~ (fr) ~ (de) ~ (it) ~ (es)