Italian language, Italian songs

Learn Italian in Song: Il Mio Canto Libero

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My Free Song

Battisti‘s #1 hit of 1972.

In un mondo che non ci vuole piu’
il mio canto libero sei tu
e l’immensita’ si apre intorno a noi
aldila’ del limite degli occhi tuoi
nasce il sentimento, nasce in mezzo al pianto
e s’innalza altissimo e va
e vola sulle accuse della gente
a tutti i suoi retaggi indifferente
sorretto da un anelito d’amor
di vero amoreIn un mondo che prigioniero e’
respiriamo liberi io e te
e la verita’ si offre nuda a noi
e limpida e’ l’immagine ormai
nuove sensazioni, giovani emozioni
si esprimono purissime in noi
la veste dei fantasmi del passato
cadendo lascia il quadro immacolato
e s’alza un vento tiepido d’amore
di vero amore
e riscopro te

dolce compagna che non sai domandare
ma sai che ovunque andrai
al fianco tuo mi avrai
se tu lo vuoi

(pietre un giorno case ricoperte dalle rose selvatiche
rivivono, ci chiamano
boschi abbandonati e percio’ soppravvissuti vergini
si aprono, ci abbracciano)

In un mondo che prigioniero e’
respiriamo liberi io e te
e la verita’ si offre nuda a noi
e limpida e’ l’immagine ormai
nuove sensazioni, giovani emozioni
si esprimono purissime in noi
la veste dei fantasmi del passato
cadendo lascia il quadro immacolato
e s’alza un vento tiepido d’amore
di vero amore
e riscopro te

 In a world which doesn’t want us anymore
You are my free song
And immensity opens around us
Beyond the limit of your eyes
Feeling is born, born in the midst of tears
and it rises high and goes
and flies on the accusations of the people
and all its indifferent inheritances
held up by a longing for love
for real loveIn a world which is a prisoner
we breathe free, you and I
and the truth offers itself naked to us
and limpid is the image now
new sensations, young emotions
are expressed purely in us
the trappings of ghosts of the past
fall, leaving an immaculate picture
and a warm wind of love rises
of real love
and I rediscover you

sweet companion who doesn’t know how to ask
but you know that wherever you go
you will have me at your side
if you wish

stones one day [as] houses covered with wild roses
live again, they call us
abandoned woods which have therefore survived virgin
open themselves and embrace us

In a world which is a prisoner
we breathe free, you and I
and the truth offers itself naked to us
and limpid is the image now
new sensations, young emotions
are expressed purely in us
the trappings of ghosts of the past
fall, leaving an immaculate picture
and a warm wind of love rises
of real love
and I rediscover you
⁞

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Italy travel

Rome 2002 Gallery

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From a trip I made with my father and his wife in autumn, 2002. I think all tourists should be required to carry red umbrellas in the rain – makes for great pictures against the gray stone of the Colosseum.

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Italian culture, Italian language, Italian songs

Learn Italian in Song: Anna

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Another Battisti classic.

Hai ragione anche tu
cosa voglio di più
un lavoro io l’ho
una casa io l’ho
la mattina c’è chi
mi prepara il caffè
questo io lo so
e la sera c’è chi
non sa dirmi no
cosa voglio di più
hai ragione tu
cosa voglio di più
cosa voglio
Anna
voglio Anna
Non hai mai visto un uomo piangere
apri bene gli occhi sai perché tu ora lo vedrai
apri bene gli occhi sai perché tu ora lo vedrai
se tu non hai mai visto un uomo piangere
guardami
guardami
Anna
voglio Anna
Ho dormito lì
fra i capelli suoi
io insieme a lei
ero un uomo
quanti e quanti sì
ha gridato lei
quanti non lo sai
ero un uomo
Cosa sono ora io
cosa sono mio Dio
resta poco di me
io che parlo con te
io che parlo con te di
Anna
Anna
voglio Anna		 You, too, are right
What more do I want?
I have a job
I have a home
In the morning there is someone who
makes my coffee
I know this.
And in the evening there is someone who
Can’t say no to me
What more do I want?
You’re right.
What more do I want?
What do I want?
Anna.
I want Anna.
You’ve never seen a man cry
open your eyes wide, you know, because now you will see him/it
open your eyes wide, you know, because now you will see him/it
if you’ve never seen a man cry
look at me
look at me
Anna.
I want Anna.
I slept there
among her hair
together with her
I was a man
How many “yeses”
she cried out
You don’t know how many
I was a man
What am I now?
My god, what am I?
There’s little left of me
I who speak with you
I who speak with you of
Anna.
Anna.
I want Anna.

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TCKs

Third-Culture Kids: Growing Up Everywhere, and Nowhere

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You who are on the road must have a code that you can live by.
And so become yourself, because the past is just a goodbye.

Graham Nash – Teach Your Children

“A Third Culture Kid (TCK) is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture.  The TCK builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture are assimilated into the TCK’s life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar background.”

David C. Pollock & Ruth E. Van Reken

Third Culture Kids – available from Amazon UK | US – If you are a TCK or have a TCK in your life, read this book!

Do I Qualify? (As a TCK, that is)

See the timeline. Yeah, I guess I qualify.

Stephen Alter, a Woodstock alumnus a few years older than myself, published a book in 1998 called All the Way to Heaven: An American Boyhood in the Himalayas. It’s not an entirely satisfying book; he leaves too many questions unanswered about how he did finally deal with the confusions of identity and culture caused by his unusual upbringing – confusions very familiar to many of us. But there are some beautiful and funny stories and plenty of description, which makes it a good introduction to the place for those who’ve never been to Woodstock (and a great nostalgia trip for those who have).

Resources for TCKs


very comprehensive Wikipedia article
At Home Abroad (regular section of the International Herald Tribune) – e.g., When Expat Runs in the Family
Expats Reunite
Interaction International
Global Nomads International
TCK World
Third Culture Kids: Returning to their Passport Country
US State Department links page

April, 2004: In Memoriam

Dave Pollock, tireless advisor, counselor, and advocate for third-culture kids, died on Easter. I had the privilege of attending his TCK workshop at a Woodstock reunion; these workshops were epiphanies of self-understanding and healing for many of us. TCKs worldwide will miss him, and are grateful for all that he has done for us.

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