Bella Ciao: lyrics, analysis, meaning and history of the song
Beautiful ciao is the name of a song adopted as a hymn by the Italian Partisan Resistance during World War II. The song has become popular again decades later thanks to the Spanish series The Money Heist. Beautiful ciao it has accompanied generations and generations, demonstrating its validity.
What has made it so important and emblematic? When does it go back? To date, there are several hypotheses about the origin of the song Beautiful ciao. Let's trace its history and meaning.
Bella ciao lyrics
A mattina mi son svegliato,
or beautiful, ciao! beautiful, ciao! beautiful, ciao, ciao, ciao!
A mattina mi son svegliato,
e ho trovato l'invasor.
O partigiano, portami via,
or beautiful, ciao! beautiful, ciao! beautiful, ciao, ciao, ciao!
O partigiano, portami via,
ché mi sento di die.
E se io muoio da partigiano,
or beautiful, ciao! beautiful, ciao! beautiful, ciao, ciao, ciao!
E se io moio da partigiano,
you my devi seppellir.
E seppellire lassù in montagna,
or beautiful, ciao! beautiful, ciao! beautiful, ciao, ciao, ciao!
E seppellire lassù in montagna,
sotto l'ombra di un bel fior.
Tutte le genti che passeranno,
or beautiful, ciao! beautiful, ciao! beautiful, ciao, ciao, ciao!
e le people che passeranno,
My diranno «Che bel fior!»
«E questo è il fiore del partigiano»,
or beautiful, ciao! beautiful, ciao! beautiful, ciao, ciao, ciao!
«E questo è il fiore del partigiano,
dead for freedom! »
«E questo è il fiore del partigiano»,
dead for freedom! »
Translation of Beautiful ciao
One morning I woke up
Or beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
One morning I woke up
and I have discovered the invader.
Oh! Partisan, I'm going with you,
Or beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
Oh! Partisan, I'm going with you,
because I feel here to die.
If I die as a Partisan,
Or beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
If I die as a Partisan,
you must bury me.
Dig a grave in the mountain
Or beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
Dig a grave in the mountain
under the shade of a beautiful flower.
All the people, when it passes,
Or beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
And the people, when it happens,
they will tell me "What a beautiful flower!"
This is the flower, of the Partisan,
Or beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
This is the flower of the Partisan,
died for freedom.
This is the flower of a Partisan,
dead for freedom!
Analysis and meaning of Beautiful ciao
The song Bella ciao, As it was released towards the end of World War II, it is a libertarian anthem that evokes the resistance and dignity of those who fight against oppression.
It is not strange to find in it the mention of the life that is leaving (“bella ciao”), be it the youth that moves away, or the life that yields to the stalking death in times of darkness. The letter is a call to comrades and supporters of the cause, a call to all who share the fate of the oppression of the regime. It is the work of those who remain standing to honor the memory of the fallen, remember their legacy, tell their story and continue their fight.
This song represents both the desire for freedom and the vocation to fight and active participation in the process of its construction. Therefore, it is a source of inspiration for those who undertake causes that challenge the established order.
Beautiful ciao and the partisan resistance
At present, it is not known for sure who is the author of the lyrics of Beautiful ciao in its revolutionary version, which is the most widespread. As is often the case in popular culture, anonymity did its thing and has kept that information from us, at least for the moment.
It is known that this song was adopted as the anthem of the Partisan Resistance movement in Italy, an armed movement that opposed Italian fascism and German Nazism. About this Federico Larsen, in an article called Bella ciao: behind the scenes, Maintains that:
Socialists, anarchists, liberals and –especially– communists, gave life to a war of resistance with already legendary connotations. They became "partisans" -partigiani in Italian -, so called for taking sides in what in Italy was called the "war of part", that is to say that of the weakest against the strongest. Writers (like Italo Calvino), intellectuals, artists but especially peasants and workers formed groups clandestine, organized in brigades by ideological affinity, and fought until 1945 against the occupation Nazi-fascist.
The Resistance knew best the anthem of the Socialist International, which came from Russian communism. The song Beautiful ciao It had not yet been widely disseminated, but was known in some foci in Italy and was performed at festivals of revolutionary music.
The fall of fascism came on April 28, 1945, when the partisan Resistance intercepted and shot Mussolini and his mistress. With the fall of fascism, there was a need to unify wills within the reconstruction process. Beautiful ciao, with its broad and inclusive text, made its definitive entry as a symbol of victorious resistance.
Still, the question remains: where would the original music of Beautiful ciao?
Source Beautiful ciao
The most widely accepted hypothesis about the origin of Beautiful ciao maintains that it comes from a Jewish song called Oi oi di koilen. It is a song of the branch of the Ashkenazis, who spoke Yiddish. It was first recorded and recorded in New York by Ukrainian accordionist Mishka Ziganoff in 1919.
The song would have made several round trips. A first trip from Europe to America, and then, once recorded, an emigrant would take her on her second trip from the United States to Italy in the following years. In the process of diffusion it would have undergone some modifications.
Bella Ciao and the Rice Workers
Another hypothesis suggests that the song would have been an adaptation of a popular song from the mondinas or women rice field workers in northern Italy, dating back to the 19th century.
However, everything seems to indicate that the lyrics of this version were written between 1951 and 1952 by Vasco Scansani di Gualtieri, debunking this hypothesis. In any case, the song of the mondinas was recorded by Giovanna daffini.
In the following link you can listen to this version, immediately followed by the partisan version.
Emblem of the Resistance
Beautiful ciao it has been taken up again and again in different causes. For example, it was taken up by the student, peasant and worker movements of the 1960s. It has also been invoked recently in other demonstrations.
Due to its validity, many artists from different latitudes have made their own versions. Among them we can mention Yves Montand, Mercedes Sosa, the punk band Argies, Manu Chao and many more.
Beautiful ciao on The Money Heist
Recently the song Beautiful ciao has become popular once again thanks to the impact that the Spanish series has had The Money Heist, which not only includes it in its soundtrack, but also evokes it as a hymn for its characters.
The cause of the characters? Rob the Palacio de la Moneda. But it's not that simple. The motive of the protagonists is a political action, otherwise it would be enough to rob a bank.
The series is about a masterstroke to the economic system, generator of poverty and exclusion. The thieves of The Money Heist they pretend to be resistance.
The song made a memorable entry into a climactic moment in history. Check out the link below.
