Oh mia bela Madunina
| "O mia bela Madunina" | |
|---|---|
 The Madunina | |
| Song | |
| English title | My beautiful Madunina |
| Written | 1934 |
| Writer | Giovanni d'Anzi |
| Language | Milanese |
Oh mia bèla Madunina (Oh my beautiful little Madonna) is a song by Giovanni D'Anzi which is an unofficial city anthem of Milan.[1] The title refers to the golden statue of the Virgin Mary on the spire of Milan Cathedral visible all over the city, namely the Madonnina (Madunina in the Milanese dialect).
The song was written and composed in 1934 by the Milan songwriter Giovanni D'Anzi (1906–1974). In the 1930s, many immigrants from the Mezzogiorno, especially from the region of Naples, came to Milan bringing with them their famous Neapolitan songs such as O sole mio. D'Anzi thus decided to create a musical answer from Milan. The song became a hit in the city almost immediately, and in 1938 it topped the Italian hit parade.
Musically, O mia bela Madunina has similarities to American ballads of the time.[2] The lyrics give some praise to Neapolitan music but add that Milan also deserves a mention; they address the Madonna under whose domination Milan is vibrant with life and always busy (a pointed reference to the reputation of the Southerners whom the Milanese regarded as lazy). The text ends with an offer to shake hands because it is a small world, after all, but the closing verse ma Milan, l'è on gran Milan! ("but Milan is a great Milan!") reaffirms the Milanese pride. It's often sung by AC Milan and Inter Milan fans during the matches.
Lyrics
A disen la cansun la nass a Napoli,
e certament g'han minga tutti i tort.
Surriento o Mergelina tutt'i popoli
i avran cantà almén un miliun de volt.
Mi speri che s'ufenderà nissun
se parlom un cicin anca de nüm.
Oh mia bela Madunina, che te brilet de luntan,
tüta d'ora e picinina, ti te dominet Milan,
sota a ti se viv la vita, se sta mai cui man in man.
Canten tücc "luntan de Napuli se mör",
ma pö i vegnen chì a Milan.
Ades ghè la cansun de Roma magica,
de Nina, er Cupolone e Rugantin;
se sbàten in del Tever, roba tragica,
esagerem, me par, un cicinin.
Sperem che vegna minga la mania
de metes a cantà "Malàno mia".
O mia bela Madunina, che te brilet de luntan,
tuta d'ora e picinina, ti te dominet Milan.
Si vegnì sensa paüra, nüm ve slungarèm la man.
Tütt el mùnd a l'è paes, e semm d'accord,
ma Milan, l'è on gran Milan!
English translation
They say that songs were born in Naples,
and they certainly aren't entirely wrong,
Surrento, Mergellina, every people
has sung them at least a million times,
I hope it won't offend anybody,
if we talk a little about ourselves...
chorus:
Oh my beautiful Madonnina,
you shine from far away,
all golden and minute,
you rule over Milan,
at your feet life is lived,
there's no twiddling of one's thumbs,
everybody sings "away from Naples one dies"
but then they come to Milan.
Now there this song about "magic Rome",
about Nina, St. Peter's Basilica's dome and Rugantino,
about people throwing themselves in the Tiber - tragic stories,
perhaps a little over the top?
I hope the next craze,
won't be singing "Malano mia"![3]
chorus---
So, come, have no fear ...
we'll extend to you our hand,
the whole world is but a village,
- and we agree! -
but Milan is a great Milan.
Footnotes
- ↑ M. Ridolfi, Almanacco della Repubblica: storia d'Italia attraverso le tradizioni, le istituzioni e le simbologie repubblicane, p. 157.
- ↑ Guaitamacchi, E. (2009). Mille canzoni che ci hanno cambiato la vita. Rizzoli. ISBN 9788817033923. Retrieved 2015-04-30.
- ↑ Neapolitan dialect for "Oh My Milan")
Sources
- Giovanni D'Anzi, Le canzoni milanesi, Curci, Milano 1961