The Bella Ciao song It has become very popular in recent times due to the radio program of Modern Life that took it as one of its recurring songs to sing with the public, but above all because it became the anthem of the characters of the paper house. In fact, the actress of the series Najwa Nimri has made a Spanish version of Bella Ciao.
Here we leave you the song of Najwa Nimri before moving on to the history and origin of Bella Ciao.
Original lyrics of Bella Ciao in Italian
One morning my son svegliato,
oh beautiful, bye! beautiful, bye! beautiful, bye, bye, bye!
One morning my son svegliato,
e ho trovato l’invader.
O partisan, carry my way,
oh beautiful, bye! beautiful, bye! beautiful, bye, bye, bye!
O partisan, carry my way,
che mi sento di die.
E se io muoio da partigiano,
oh beautiful, bye! beautiful, bye! beautiful, bye, bye, bye!
E se io moio da partigiano,
you my devi seppellir.
E seppellire lassù in montagna,
oh beautiful, bye! beautiful, bye! beautiful, bye, bye, bye!
E seppellire lassù in montagna,
Under the shadow of a beautiful flower.
Tutte le genti che passeranno,
oh beautiful, bye! beautiful, bye! beautiful, bye, bye, bye!
and the people who passeranno,
My diranno «Che bel fior!»
“This is the fire of the party”,
oh beautiful, bye! beautiful, bye! beautiful, bye, bye, bye!
“This is the flower of the party,
dead for freedom!»
“This is the fire of the party”,
dead for freedom!»
Translation of Bella Ciao in Spanish
One morning I woke up
Or beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
One morning, I woke up,
and I have discovered the invader.
Oh! Partisan, I’m going with you,
Or beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
Oh! Partisan, I’m going with you,
because I feel here to die.
If I die as a Partisan,
Or beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
If I die as a Partisan,
you must bury me
Dig a hole in the mountain
Or beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
Dig a hole in the mountain
under the shade of a beautiful flower.
All the people, when I pass,
Or beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
And the people, when it passes,
They will tell me “What a beautiful flower!”
This is the flower, of the Partisan,
Or beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, beautiful goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
This is the flower of the Partisan,
died for freedom
This is the flower of a Partisan,
dead for freedom!
Bella Ciao Song Meaning
This song arises during World War II and is used as a hymn to resistance and freedom against the oppressors.
Also read Summary of World War II: origin, sides, battles and end
“Bella Ciao” is a farewell to life sung by those who rose up against oppression and were very clear that they could lose their lives during the fight. In fact the song served as call to comrades to unite against the regime. He also explains at the end of the song that the task left to the survivors is to honor those who fell in the fight and never forget them.
Being a song that evokes the fight against the established order, that is why it is currently used on occasions in which precisely someone reveals himself against the rules or against what is stipulated. It was also used in Modern Life and precisely for this reason it is used in the Paper House, which rebels against the system.
Story of Bella Ciao and the Partisan Resistance
Currently we don’t know the author of Bella Ciao’s song since the song was passed from mouth to mouth, causing its author to completely fade.
What is known is that, as we have said before and as the lyrics of the song refer to, the Partisan Resistance movement kept the song for fight against italian fascism and, in turn, against Hitler and Nazism. These liberal socialists and communists called themselves the partisans, as they mention in the song, because they were part of the “party war” that they used to say in Italy, that is, that war in which the fight takes place between the weakest and the stronger. All kinds of intellectuals and artists of the time, as well as workers and peasants, organized clandestinely in groups and fought against fascism and the Nazi occupation until 1945.
Statue of a partisan at the Teatro Farnese, Parma, Italy
The Resistance normally used the anthem of the Socialist Internationalfrom the anthem of the Russian communists, but the song of Bella Ciao began to be heard in some areas of Italy and in meetings and parties of the revolutionaries.
The origin of the song Bella Ciao
Although, as we mentioned before, it is not known who was the author of this song, some hypotheses place its origin in a Jewish song called Oi Oi di koilen, from the Ashkenazis who had Yiddish as their main language. This Jewish song was first recorded in New York in 1919, performed by Mishka Ziganoff, a Ukrainian accordionist.
After this origin, it is said that the song would have reached Europe and also America. But, after the first recording of the song, an emigrant could have brought the song from the United States to Italy. It is possible that during those comings and goings and all the diffusion that took place of the song, it had undergone some changes.
Another theory places the origin of the song in a popular song of the well-known mondinas, women who worked in the rice fields in Italy in the 19th century. The mondinas version was also recorded, this time by Giovanna Daffini. However, it seems that the lyrics of this version had to be written between 1951 and 1952, so the origin of the rice fields would not make sense.
The Bella Ciao song at other times in history
This song has also been adopted by other movements such as the revolts of students, workers and peasants in the sixties. Hence, we can now listen to versions of this song by many different artists such as Mercedes SOsa or Manu Chao.
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