Lucio Dalla – Caruso: Italian Lyrics and English Translation

Caruso is one of the most well-known Italian love songs. Written in 1986 by singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla, it is dedicated to acclaimed Italian opera singer Enrico Caruso. In an interview, Dalla revealed the origin and meaning of the lyrics. After his boat broke down between Sorrento and Capri, the singer-songwriter had no choice but to …

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Bella Ciao – Original Italian Lyrics & English Translation

These days, Bella Ciao is widely known as a generic protest song, but did you know that it has its origins in the risaie (rice fields) of northern Italy? That’s right – it was first sung by the mondine (rice weeders) whose job was to weed the paddies to promote the growth of the young …

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The Meaning of “Mamma mia!” in Italian (Oh my goodness!)

The Swedish band Abba may have made the expression popular around the world, but Italians have been using Mamma mia! as a mild expression of surprise, joy, annoyance, disappointment, anger and fear for years. It can translate in numerous ways in English including Oh my goodness! Wow! and Oh man! to name a few. Mamma …

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Italian Word of the Day: Calvo (bald)

The word for bald or bald-headed in Italian is calvo, which comes from the Latin calvus of the same meaning. Its feminine form is calva and their respective plural forms are calvi and calve. Learn with our video Essere calvo means to be bald whereas diventare calvo means to go bald. Sarò calvo fra qualche …

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