{"id":2327,"date":"2012-09-27T08:35:08","date_gmt":"2012-09-27T08:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=2327"},"modified":"2012-09-27T09:33:57","modified_gmt":"2012-09-27T09:33:57","slug":"mulattiera-di-mare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/mulattiera-di-mare\/","title":{"rendered":"Mulattiera di Mare"},"content":{"rendered":"

Occasionally it\u2019s fun to find examples of one of the many dialects which make Italy so linguistically rich, and to show the difference between dialect and \u2018official\u2019 Italian. <\/p>\n

Today I\u2019ve chosen Fabrizio de Andr\u00e8\u2019s beautiful song Creuza de m\u00e4<\/strong>, written in the Genoese dialect (from Genova). Fabrizio de Andr\u00e8 (Genova 1940-1999)<\/em> was a very important Italian cantautore <\/strong>(singer-songwriter). Many of his songs are now considered poems in their own right, and, in fact, have even been included in school anthologies. In the past I\u2019ve published posts about two of his songs, which you can read by clicking on the following links: Bocca di Rosa<\/font><\/strong><\/a>, and Giovanna d’Arco<\/font><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

In 1984 de Andr\u00e8 decided to turn to his native language, the Genoese dialect, which is part of the Ligurian group of languages, and he wrote the song Creuza de m\u00e4 <\/strong>(\u2018Mulattiera di mare\u2019, Mule Track by the Sea), which is included on the album of the same name. Creuza de m\u00e4<\/strong>  <\/font>(click here for album details)<\/font><\/a><\/strong><\/font> is considered one of the best Italian albums of the Eighties. The word creuza <\/strong>has been translated into Italian as mulattiera <\/strong>(mule track), but it actually describes a steep, narrow, country lane enclosed by stone walls, typical of the Ligurian landscape. Here in our village, officially in Tuscany, but in reality just thirty five km from the Ligurian town of La Spezia, there is a steep old stone path which links the upper and lower parts of the village. The locals call this path la cresa<\/strong> (Creuza).<\/em><\/p>\n

The Genoese dialect is influenced both by the languages of its surrounding regions (particularly Tuscan and French), and, due to the fact that it has always been a very important trading port, by other Mediterranean languages such as Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Corsican, etc. In fact it\u2019s said that Genoese sounds somewhat like to Portuguese. <\/p>\n

Here are the lyrics to the first part of the song Creuza de m\u00e4<\/strong>, which is a collection of images from a sailors\u2019 life. You can listen to the song and follow the lyrics by clicking on the following link: Creuza de m\u00e4<\/font><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"De<\/a><\/p>\n

CREUZA DE M\u00c4<\/font><\/em><\/p>\n

Umbre de muri muri de main\u00e9
dunde ne vegn\u00ec duve l’\u00e8 ch’an\u00e9
da ‘n scitu duve a l’\u00fbn-a a se mustra n\u00fba
e a neutte a n’\u00e0 puntou u cutellu \u00e4 gua
e a munt\u00e4 l’\u00e0se gh’\u00e9 restou Diu
u Di\u00e0u l’\u00e9 in \u00e7\u00eb e u s’\u00e8 gh’\u00e8 faetu u n\u00ecu
ne sciurt\u00ecmmu da u m\u00e4 pe sciug\u00e0 e osse da u Dria
e a funtan-a di cumbi ‘nta c\u00e4 de pria
E ‘nt’a c\u00e4 de pria chi ghe sai\u00e0
int’\u00e0 c\u00e4 du Dria che u nu l’\u00e8 main\u00e0
gente de L\u00fbgan facce da mandill\u00e4
qui che du luassu preferiscian l’\u00e4
figge de famiggia ud\u00f9 de bun
che ti peu ammi\u00e0le senza u gundun<\/font><\/em><\/p>\n

Here is the Italian translation of the song:<\/font><\/p>\n

MULATTIERA DI MARE<\/font><\/p>\n

Ombre di facce facce di marinai
da dove venite dov’\u00e8 che andate
da un posto dove la luna si mostra nuda
e la notte ci ha puntato il coltello alla gola
e a montare l’asino c’\u00e8 rimasto Dio
il Diavolo \u00e8 in cielo e ci si \u00e8 fatto il nido
usciamo dal mare per asciugare le ossa dell’Andrea
alla fontana dei colombi nella casa di pietra
E nella casa di pietra chi ci sar\u00e0
nella casa dell’Andrea che non \u00e8 marinaio
gente di Lugano facce da tagliaborse
quelli che della spigola preferiscono l’ala
ragazze di famiglia, odore di buono
che puoi guardarle senza preservativo<\/font><\/p>\n

English:<\/font><\/p>\n

MULE TRACK BY THE SEA<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

Shadows of faces, faces of sailors
where are you coming from, where are you going
from a place where the moon shows herself naked
and the night has held a knife to our throat
and only God is left to ride the donkey
the Devil is in the sky where he\u2019s made a nest
we come out from the sea to dry out Andrea’s bones
at the fountain of the doves in the house of stone 
and who will be there in the house of stone 
the house of Andrea’s who isn\u2019t a sailor
people from Lugano, faces of pickpockets
those who of the sea bass prefer the wing  
girls from good families, smelling so good 
whom you can watch without a condom<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Occasionally it\u2019s fun to find examples of one of the many dialects which make Italy so linguistically rich, and to show the difference between dialect and \u2018official\u2019 Italian. Today I\u2019ve chosen Fabrizio de Andr\u00e8\u2019s beautiful song Creuza de m\u00e4, written in the Genoese dialect (from Genova). Fabrizio de Andr\u00e8 (Genova 1940-1999) was a very important…<\/p>\n

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