| by Franco Battiato – This song seems to be largely nonsense, but when I first heard it, it occurred to me that the chorus expresses something many people feel – unfortunately. Though the song is by Battiato, who is shown in the video here, musically I much prefer the Neri per Caso cover. | |||
Centro di Gravita’ Permanente |
Permanent Center of Gravity |
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| Una vecchia bretone con un cappello e un ombrello | An old Breton [woman] with a hat and an umbrella | ||
| di carta di riso e canna di bambu` | of rice paper and bamboo cane | ||
| capitani coraggiosi | Captains courageous | ||
| furbi contrabbandieri macedoni | Clever Macedonian smugglers | ||
| gesuiti euclidei | Euclidean Jesuits | ||
| vestiti come dei bonzi per entrare a corte | Dressed like Buddhist monks to go to the court | ||
| degli imperatori della dinastia dei Ming. | of the Emperors of the Ming dynasty. | ||
| ritornello: | refrain: | ||
| Cerco un centro di gravita` permanente | I’m seeking a permanent center of gravity | ||
| che non mi faccia mai cambiare idea | That won’t make me ever change my mind | ||
| sulle cose sulla gente | About things, about people | ||
| avrei bisogno di… | I would need… | ||
| Over and over again. | [surely you don’t need me to translate this line!] | ||
| Per le strade di Pechino erano giorni di maggio | On the streets of Peking there were days of May | ||
| tra noi si scherzava a raccogliere ortiche | We joked among ourselves gathering nettles | ||
| non sopporto i cori russi la musica finto rock | I can’t stand Russian choruses, fake rock music, | ||
| la new wave italiana il free jazz punk inglese | the Italian New Wave, free jazz, English punk | ||
| neanche la nera africana. | nor even the black African. | ||
| (ritornello) | (refrain) | ||
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if you find this useful and want more, let me know!
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