One of the the most well-known and beloved Christmas songs in many countries across the world, including Italy, is Jingle Bells. Although you will hear Italian people singing the English version at Christmastime, the song is so popular that they’ve also come up with an Italian equivalent called Din Don Dan, an onomatopoeic reference to the sound of bells clanging.
In this article, we’ve provided the lyrics to the Italian version of Jingle Bells, as well as the English translation so that you can compare it to the original.
Din don dan! Din don dan! Din don din don dan!
Suona allegro il campanil, è Natale in ogni cuore.
Din don dan! Din don dan! Che felicità!
Oggi è nato il Buon Gesù tra la neve che vien giù.
Ding dong dang! Ding dong dang! Ding dong ding dong dang!
The bell is sounding merrily, it’s Christmas in every heart.
Ding dong dang! Ding dong dang! What happiness!
Good Jesus was born today amid the falling snow.
La renna al Polo Nord, scampanellando va,
le strenne porterà, a tutti i bimbi buoni,
e dalle Alpi al mar, i bimbi di quaggiù,
aspettano quei doni che regala il buon Gesù.
The reindeer at the North Pole,
Goes ringing along
It will bring gifts to all the good children,
and from the Alps to the sea, the children down here,
wait for those gifts that good Jesus gives them.
Din don dan! Din don dan! Din don din don dan!
Il Natale cambierà tutti buoni renderà.
Din don dan! Din don dan! Che felicità!
Oggi è nato il Buon Gesù tra la neve che vien giù.
Ding dong dang! Ding dong dang! Ding dong ding dong dang!
Christmas will change everyone and make them good.
Ding dong dang! Ding dong dang! What happiness!
Good Jesus was born today amid the falling snow.
Vien la neve giù, la slitta è pronta già,
sui campi noi andiam, al trotto del caval.
Si sente tintinnar, nella notte blu,
che gioia è correr e cantar in slitta una canzon.
The snow is falling, the sleigh is ready
Over the fields we go, to the trot of the horse.
You can hear the tinkling, in the blue night
What joy it is to race along and sing a song in a sleigh.
You may also encounter the following alternative translation of Jingle Bells. I’m personally not as keen on this version as it’s more of a literal interpretation, not to mention that the first line of the song hasn’t been translated.
Jingle bells, Jingle bells, jingle all the way
Bello andare col cavallo sulla neve bianca
Jingle bells, Jingle bells, jingle all the way
Scivolando con la slitta nel silenzio, andiam.
Jingle bells, Jingle bells, jingle all the way
It’s nice to ride the horse in the white snow
Jingle bells, Jingle bells, jingle all the way
Sliding along with the sled in the silence, let’s go.
Nella notte santa, s’ode da lontano
L’eco di campane, din don din don dan.
Canteremo insieme al suon dei campanelli
Augurando a tutti un lieto e buon Natal.
In the holy night, it is heard from afar
The echo of bells, din don din don dan.
We will sing along to the ringing of the bells
Wishing everyone a happy and Merry Christmas.
Which translation do you like best? Let us know in the comment section below!
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
