myanarchistproseandpoetry: La guerra di Piero - Piero’s War - by Fabrizio De André www.youtu
myanarchistproseandpoetry: La guerra di Piero - Piero’s War - by Fabrizio De André https://www.youtube.com/embed/D7Hi3o-s17M ‘Dormi sepolto in un campo di granonon è la rosa non è il tulipanoche ti fan veglia dall'ombra dei fossima sono mille papaveri rossi You sleep buried in a field of grain.It’s not the rose, it’s not the tulipthat stands vigil over you by the shadow of the trenches,but a thousand red poppies. lungo le sponde del mio torrentevoglio che scendano i lucci argentatinon più i cadaveri dei soldatiportati in braccio dalla corrente Along the banks of my streamI wish the silver pikes would swim past,no more the cadavers of soldierscarried in the arms of the current. così dicevi ed era invernoe come gli altri verso l'infernote ne vai triste come chi deveil vento ti sputa in faccia la neve Thus you were saying, and it was winter.And like the others, towards the infernoyou go, sad as one who must.The wind spits snow in your face. fermati Piero, fermati adessolascia che il vento ti passi un po’ addossodei morti in battaglia ti porti la vocechi diede la vita ebbe in cambio una croce Stop Piero, stop now,let the wind pass over you a bit.You carry with you the voice of the battle dead -whoever gave his life had a cross in exchange. ma tu no lo udisti e il tempo passavacon le stagioni a passo di giavaed arrivasti a varcar la frontierain un bel giorno di primavera But you didn’t hear it, and time passedwith the seasons at the pace of a square dance,and you arrived to cross the frontieron a beautiful day in spring. e mentre marciavi con l'anima in spallevedesti un uomo in fondo alla valleche aveva il tuo stesso identico umorema la divisa di un altro colore And while marching, shouldering your spirit,you saw a man down in the valleywith the very same mood as yours,but the uniform of a different color. sparagli Piero, sparagli orae dopo un colpo sparagli ancorafino a che tu non lo vedrai esanguecadere in terra a coprire il suo sangue Shoot him, Piero, shoot him now,and after a hit shoot him againuntil you don’t see him, lifeless,falling to the ground to cover his blood. e se gli sparo in fronte o nel cuoresoltanto il tempo avrà per morirema il tempo a me resterà per vederevedere gli occhi di un uomo che muore And if I shoot him in the forehead or in the heart,he’ll only have time to die.But time will remain for me to see,to see the eyes of a man who is dying. e mentre gli usi questa premuraquello si volta, ti vede e ha pauraed imbracciata l'artiglierianon ti ricambia la cortesia And while you give him this consideration,he turns, he sees you and is afraidand, his artillery raised and aimed,he doesn’t return the same courtesy to you. cadesti a terra senza un lamentoe ti accorgesti in un solo momentoche il tempo non ti sarebbe bastatoa chieder perdono per ogni peccato You fell to the ground without a cryand were aware in an instantthat there would not be enough time for youto ask pardon for every sin. cadesti a terra senza un lamentoe ti accorgesti in un solo momentoche la tua vita finiva quel giornoe non ci sarebbe stato un ritorno You fell to the earth without a cryand realized in an instantthat your life was ending that day,and there would be no return. Ninetta mia crepare di maggioci vuole tanto troppo coraggioNinetta bella dritto all'infernoavrei preferito andarci d’inverno My Ninetta, dying in Maytakes way too much courage.Beautiful Ninetta, straight to hellI would have preferred to go in winter. e mentre il grano ti stava a sentiredentro alle mani stringevi fuciledentro alla bocca stringevi paroletroppo gelate per sciogliersi al sole And while the grain stood to hear you,in your hands you were gripping a rifle,in your mouth you clenched wordstoo cold to melt in the sun. dormi sepolto in un campo di granonon è la rosa non è il tulipanoche ti fan veglia dall'ombra dei fossima sono mille papaveri rossi. You sleep buried in a field of grain.It’s not the rose, it’s not the tulipthat stands vigil over you by the shadow of the trenches,but a thousand red poppies.’ “'La guerra di Piero’ was the B-side of a single released in 1964, and it received little notice. However, in 1968 the song became an anthem to militant anti-war students in Italy and achieved the stature of Dylan’s ‘Blowin’ in the Wind.’ The song has its origins in stories told to De André by his uncle, who served in World War II in the Albanian campaign and spent almost two years at the Mannheim concentration camp as a prisoner of war. He never recovered from the wartime trauma, but his stories made an indelible impression on the young De André. Even though credited only to De André, the music of the song was co-written with guitarist Vittorio Centanaro. ‘La giava,’ translated as ‘square dance,’ was in fact a fast waltz that became popular in France after World War I, considered by some an indecent dance because it involved touching the hips of the girl (gasp!).” -- source link