Learn Italian in Song: Azzurro

A version sung last summer by the victorious Azzurri (Italian national football team), apparently as a fundraiser for charity. The guy in the blue shirt is Gianni Morandi (not a football player).

Azzurro – Sky Blue
Paolo Conte - Tournee - Azzurro

by Paolo Conte, made famous by Adriano Celentano

Cerco l’estate tutto l’anno I look for summer all year long
e all’improvviso eccola qua. And all of a sudden, here it is.
Lei é partita per le spiagge She has left for the beaches,
e sono solo quassu’ in citta’ , And I’m alone up here in the city.
sento fischiare sopra i tetti I hear whistling above the roofs
un aeroplano che se ne va. a plane that’s leaving.
Refrain
Azzurro,il pomeriggio é troppo azzurro Blue, the afternoon is too blue
e lungo per me. And long for me.
Mi accorgo I realize
di non avere piu’ risorse, That I have no more resources
e allora so now
io quasi quasi prendo il treno I could almost take the train
e vengo, vengo da te, And come, come to you
ma il treno dei desideri But the train of our desires
nei miei pensieri all’incontrario va. In my thoughts runs backwards.
Sembra quand’ero all’oratorio, It’s like when I was at the oratorio*
con tanto sole, tanti anni fa. With so much sun, so many years ago.
Quelle domeniche da solo Those Sundays alone
in un cortile, a passeggiar… Walking around in a courtyard
ora mi annoio piu’ di allora, Nowadays I get more bored than I did then
neanche un prete per chiacchierar… Not even a priest to chat with.
(refrain)
Cerco un po’ d’Africa in giardino, I look for a bit of Africa in the garden
tra l’oleandro e il baobab, Between the oleander and the baobab
come facevo da bambino, As I did when I was a kid
ma qui c’é gente, non si puo’ piu’, But there are people here, I can’t do that anymore
stanno innaffiando le tue rose, They’re watering your roses
non c’é il leone, But there’s no lion
chissa’ dov’é… who knows where it is.
(refrain)
*Oratorio in this context means a youth center, run by and physically attached to a Catholic church. They offer after school and summer programs to keep neighborhood kids out of trouble if their parents have to work.

if you find this useful and want more, let me know!

2 comments

  1. Gianni Morandi… just “is not a football player” ?
    You may note that he is one of the biggest (if not greater) singer in the last … almost 50 years in italian music scene.
    And regarding football he is one of the founder and most assidue player of the singers national team!
    Ciao!

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.