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:

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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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