Caruso (song)
Encyclopedia
"Caruso" by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla
in 1986. It is dedicated to Enrico Caruso, an Italian tenor
.
This song is most probably a way of romanticizing Enrico Caruso's last days in Sorrento and Napoli. Enrico Caruso being a great legend in Italian Lyric Opera was one of the greatest and sought-after singers during very late 19th century and early 20th century. He lived a very difficult and rather unhappy life having many challenges and problems with Italian opera houses. He gained more fame and success in the US. He was born to a very poor family in Naples. He was often attached and had several love affairs with prominent women in the performing arts who were already married. These love affairs ended tragically. With Ada Giachetti (his most passionate and longest love affair) who was already married, he had two sons, but in the end she left him for their driver. Then he met a woman 20 years his junior just a few years before he died. With her he had a daughter called Gloria, whom Lucio Dalla described in this song "Caruso".
People said that Caruso was not really in love with Dorothy Benjamin. Later Caruso admitted his real intentions in marrying her saying, "Because I want somebody who is completely my own." Sorrento is a beautiful coastal city not far from Napoli or Naples. In the song it says "Surriento", it's the Neapolitan dialect meaning Sorrento. It's where he spent many days in convalescence before he finally died at Vesuvio Hotel in Naples.
The song Caruso may be Lucio Dalla's way of romanticizing the last days of Enrico. What is not clear is whether he is talking to his daughter or to his wife while he (Caruso) was saying, "Ti voglio bene assai ma tanto bene sai". In Italian one can say "Ti voglio bene" to a mother, son, sister, but you can also say this to your beloved, however one must know that it's not the same as "Ti amo" which can be said exclusively to the beloved person, whether your wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, etc.
If indeed Caruso said "ti voglio bene" to Dorothy (as the song suggests) it means that his affections for her is more like that of a father than that of a husband.
Lucio Dalla
Lucio Dalla is a popular Italian singer-songwriter and musician. He also plays clarinet and keyboards.He is the composer of Caruso , which has been covered by numerous international artists...
in 1986. It is dedicated to Enrico Caruso, an Italian tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
.
Unclear meaning of the song
Controversially, the song simply tells about the pains and longings of a man who is about to die while he is looking in the eyes of a girl who was very dear to him.This song is most probably a way of romanticizing Enrico Caruso's last days in Sorrento and Napoli. Enrico Caruso being a great legend in Italian Lyric Opera was one of the greatest and sought-after singers during very late 19th century and early 20th century. He lived a very difficult and rather unhappy life having many challenges and problems with Italian opera houses. He gained more fame and success in the US. He was born to a very poor family in Naples. He was often attached and had several love affairs with prominent women in the performing arts who were already married. These love affairs ended tragically. With Ada Giachetti (his most passionate and longest love affair) who was already married, he had two sons, but in the end she left him for their driver. Then he met a woman 20 years his junior just a few years before he died. With her he had a daughter called Gloria, whom Lucio Dalla described in this song "Caruso".
Guardó negli occhi la ragazza quegli occhi verdi come il mare
Poi all'improvviso uscí una lacrima e lui credette di affogare
Te voglio bene assai ma tanto tanto bene sai
People said that Caruso was not really in love with Dorothy Benjamin. Later Caruso admitted his real intentions in marrying her saying, "Because I want somebody who is completely my own." Sorrento is a beautiful coastal city not far from Napoli or Naples. In the song it says "Surriento", it's the Neapolitan dialect meaning Sorrento. It's where he spent many days in convalescence before he finally died at Vesuvio Hotel in Naples.
The song Caruso may be Lucio Dalla's way of romanticizing the last days of Enrico. What is not clear is whether he is talking to his daughter or to his wife while he (Caruso) was saying, "Ti voglio bene assai ma tanto bene sai". In Italian one can say "Ti voglio bene" to a mother, son, sister, but you can also say this to your beloved, however one must know that it's not the same as "Ti amo" which can be said exclusively to the beloved person, whether your wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, etc.
If indeed Caruso said "ti voglio bene" to Dorothy (as the song suggests) it means that his affections for her is more like that of a father than that of a husband.
Lyrics
Qui dove il mare luccica
e grida forte il vento
su una vecchia terrazza vicina al golfo di Surriento
un uomo abbraccia una ragazza
dopo che aveva pianto
poi si schiarisce la voce e ricomincia il canto:
Te voglio bene assai
ma tanto tanto bene sai
è una catena ormai
che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai...
Vide le luci in mezzo al mare
pensò alle notti là in America
ma erano solo le lampare
e la bianca scia d'un'elica
sentì il dolore nella musica
si alzò dal pianoforte
ma quando vide la luna uscire da una nuvola
gli sembrò più dolce anche la morte.
Guardò negli occhi la ragazza
quegli occhi verdi come il mare
poi all'improvviso uscì una lacrima
e lui credette d'affogare.
Te voglio bene assai
ma tanto tanto bene sai
è una catena ormai
che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai...
La potenza della lirica
dove ogni dramma è un falso
che con un po' di trucco e con la mimica
puoi diventare un altro
Ma due occhi che ti guardano
così vicini e veri
ti fanno scordare le parole
confondono i pensieri.
Così diventò tutto piccolo
anche le notti là in America
ti volti e vedi la tua vita
come la scia d'un'elica.
Ah si, è la vita che finisce
ma lui non ci pensò poi tanto
anzi si sentiva già felice
e ricominciò il suo canto:
Te voglio bene assai
ma tanto tanto bene sai
è una catena ormai
che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai...
Te voglio bene assai
ma tanto tanto bene sai
è una catena ormai
che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai...
Translation
Here where the sea sparkles,
and a strong wind blows,
on an old terrace overlooking the gulf of Sorrento,
a man holds a little girl in his arms
after he's been crying.
He clears his throat and sings the song again.
I love you so much;
so very much, you know.
It's a bond, now,
you know, that thaws the blood in the veins.
He looked at the lights, out at sea,
and thought about the nights in America.
But they were only the lamps of fishing boats
and the white of wake.
He felt the pain of the music.
He got up from the piano,
but when he saw the moon come out from behind the clouds
death seemed sweeter to him.
He looked into the little girl's eyes -
those eyes as green as the sea,
then suddenly a tear fell
and he thought he was drowning.
I love you so much;
so very much, you know.
It's a bond, now,
you know, and it thaws the blood in the veins.
The power of opera!
where every drama is a sham;
where, with a little bit of make-up and mimicry,
you can become someone else.
But two eyes that look at you,
so close and so real,
make you forget the script,
confounding your thoughts.
And so everything became insignificant,
including the nights in America.
You look back and see your life
like the wake [of the boats].
Ah yes! Life is ending,
but he wasn't worried about it any more.
Instead he felt happy
and began to sing the song again.
I love you so much;
so very much, you know.
It's a bond, now,
you know, that thaws the blood in the veins.
Cover versions
- El Cigala covered the song in his album Dos Lagrimas singing the chorus in Italian while translating the rest of the song to Spanish.
- Andrea BocelliAndrea BocelliAndrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
covered the song on his debut album Il mare calmo della seraIl Mare Calmo della SeraIl mare calmo della sera is the debut album released by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, following his win of the Sanremo Festival in 1994, singing his first single and the leading single of the album of the same name...
(1994) and later in his best-selling album RomanzaRomanza-Commercial performance:First in Europe, then charts around the world, the album amassed a multitude of platinum and multi-platinum awards, outselling even Bocelli's 1995 album, Bocelli, with worldwide sales in excess of 20 million copies to date....
. - Luciano PavarottiLuciano Pavarottiright|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
recorded the song in 1986. ( "The best version so far" is into the "Tutto Pavarotti" double album ). He sang it in many of his concerts, most notably in his 1993 "Pavarotti and Friends" album with Lucio Dalla, the composer, and in [The Three Tenors]], which is included in the Paris 1998 album. - Lara FabianLara FabianLara Fabian is a Belgian-Italian international singer who also holds Canadian citizenship. Multilingual, she sings in French, Italian and English....
, a multi-national singer who sings in Quebec, Canada, as well as in Belgium and the US, included this song on her En Toute Intimité album (2003). She also gave a virtuoso performance of it as part of her 2003 Tour. - Julio IglesiasJulio IglesiasJulio José Iglesias de la Cueva , better known simply as Julio Iglesias, is a Spanish singer who has sold over 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released 77 albums. According to Sony Music Entertainment, he is one of the top 15 best selling music artists in history,...
covered this song in his album Crazy. (1994) - Josh GrobanJosh GrobanJoshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
covered this song in his second studio album Closer (2003). - A slowed down version was featured on Il DivoIl DivoIl Divo is a multinational operatic pop vocal group created by music manager, executive, and reality TV star Simon Cowell. Formed in the United Kingdom, they are also signed to Cowell's record label, Syco Music...
's Siempre album released in November 2006, which includes several key changes and an arrangement of the song for four voices. - Florent PagnyFlorent PagnyFlorent Pagny is a French musician. He has also acted in many French films. He records work in French, Italian, Spanish and English, and his greatest hits include "N'importe quoi", "Savoir aimer", "Ma Liberté de penser" and "Caruso" .As of 2008, he has sold 4,268,980 copies of singles,...
covered the song in 1996. Released as a single, his version peaked at #2 in France and #3 in Belgium (Wallonia). - It was covered by Antonio ForcioneAntonio ForcioneAntonio Forcione is an Italian guitarist, composer and performer. He started recording in 1983 and has appeared on dozens of albums....
with Sabina ScubbiaBrazilian GirlsBrazilian Girls was a band from New York City known for their eclectic blend of electronic dance music with musical styles as diverse as tango, chanson, house, reggae and lounge. None of the members are actually from Brazil and the only female in the band is Sabina Sciubba. Other members include...
on vocals in his 1997 album Meet Me In London.r. - Italian pop music icon MinaMina (singer)Anna Maria Quaini, Grand Officer , known as Mina, is an Italian pop singer. She was a staple of Italian television variety shows and a dominant figure in Italian pop music from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s known for her three-octave vocal range, the agility of her soprano voice, and her image as an...
covered this song as part of the Ti conosco mascherina double LP, originally released in 1990. - Zizi Possi recorded the song on the album "Per Amore" (1997).
- Mercedes SosaMercedes SosaHaydée Mercedes Sosa, known as La Negra, was an Argentine singer who was popular throughout South America and some countries outside the continent. With her roots in Argentine folk music, Sosa became one of the preeminent exponents of nueva canción. She gave voice to songs written by both...
covered the song on her album Sino (1993). - Neal Schon (American rock guitarist - Journey - Santana) recorded a guitar instrumental version of this song in his album "Voice" 2001.
- In 2005 the song was covered by British tenor Jon ChristosJon ChristosJon Christos is an English singer and local radio presenter.A classically trained tenor, he is best known for an album of operatically-styled crossover music.-Early years and education :...
on his debut album Northern Light. - In 2006, Mario FrangoulisMario FrangoulisMario Frangoulis is a Greek tenor and is best known for his song, "Vincerò, Perderò". He sings in Italian, Spanish, English, French, and Greek; he is fluent in all 5 languages.-Early life:...
included this song on his CD/DVD Music of the Night (Sony Classical) of his live performance at the Herod Atticus Theatre in Athens, Greece, 2005. - The Chilean singer Bárbara Muñoz, recorded a pop version of the song in her album "Amanecer" in 2006. This song was performed before when she participated in the TV program "Rojo Fama Contrafama"
- Trumpeter Chris BottiChris BottiChristopher Stephen "Chris" Botti , is an American trumpeter and composer. In 2007, Botti was nominated for two Grammy Awards including Best Pop Instrumental Album. On December 4, 2009, he was nominated for three more Grammy Awards including Best Pop Instrumental Album and Best Long Form Music Video...
covered the song from 2007 album "ItaliaItalia (album)Italia is an album by Chris Botti, released by Columbia Records on September 25, 2007. The album places focus on Botti's Italian roots through his cover versions of such songs as "Ave Maria", "Venice", "Estaté", and the title track "Italia", where he partnered with Andrea Bocelli, Botti also...
." - In 2007 the song was covered by Paul PottsPaul PottsPaul Robert Potts is an English pop opera tenor who won the first series of ITV's Britain's Got Talent in 2007, singing an operatic aria, "Nessun dorma" from Puccini's "Turandot". As a singer of operatic music, Potts recorded the album One Chance, which went to #1 in nine countries...
on his first album One chance. Paul Potts is a British tenor vocalist who in 2007 became the winner of the first series of ITV's Britain's Got TalentBritain's Got TalentBritain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
, singing an operatic aria, "Nessun DormaNessun dormaNessun dorma is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot, and is one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, il principe ignoto , who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but cold Princess Turandot...
" from Giacomo PucciniGiacomo PucciniGiacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's TurandotTurandotTurandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
. - In 2008 the song was covered by Next TimeNext TimeNext Time is a rock duo from Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. The duo consists of twin brothers Martin and Stefan Filipovski. Stefan fronts the band as the lead singer, while Martin plays the guitar and sings back-up vocals...
, a Macedonian rock band. - In 2008 the group Pharos covered it for the album The Best POP Opera 2008
- In 2009, Dominic Mancuso covered this song on his Juno-award-winning album Comfortably Mine.
- In 2010, 14-year old Cristian ImparatoCristian ImparatoCristian Imparato is an Italian singer best known for winning the first edition of the talent show hosted by Gerry Scotti, Io Canto.- Career:When he was young, he sang on the balcony of his house as the neighbors listened...
covered this song on Italian's MediasetMediasetMediaset S.p.A., known as Gruppo Mediaset in Italian, is an Italian-based media company which is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country...
Canale 5Canale 5Canale 5 is an Italian private television network of Mediaset, the media branch of Fininvest. Canale 5 was the first private television network to have a national coverage in Italy in 1980, based on a local channel, TeleMilano 58, founded in 1978....
show, Io Canto, later becoming the "Campione" or Winner of the show. - On January 22, 2010, Danny JonesDanny JonesDaniel Alan David "Danny" Jones is an English musician who is one of the lead vocalists and guitarists for pop rock band McFly, alongside fellow members Tom Fletcher , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd .-McFly:McFly rose to fame in 2004, in part due to their association with Busted who helped launch...
from McFlyMcFlyMcFly are an English pop rock band who first found fame in 2004. The band consists of Tom Fletcher , Danny Jones , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd . They were signed to the Island Records label from their 2004 launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records...
sang a shortened version of the song in the second round of ITV's Popstar to OperastarPopstar to OperastarPopstar to Operastar is a British television programme singing competition based around the training of pop stars of current to be able to sing opera. The show began airing on ITV on 15 January 2010 at 9pm. The show is repeated on TV3 Ireland on Saturday evening. The programme is produced by...
. - Donald Braswell IIDonald Braswell IIDonald Braswell II is an American actor, classical crossover tenor and composer. Braswell was on a fast track to become an internationally acclaimed opera singer when he suffered a car accident in 1995 that made him unable to speak for almost two years...
recorded this song on his 2011 album, Unchained.
External links
- UK Soul Singer Steve Menzies soulful version of Caruso.
- Caruso Lyrics in Italian and English (Andrea Bocelli's interpretation)