Speak Softly Love (Love Theme From The Godfather)
Encyclopedia
"Speak Softly Love" is a song written for The Godfather
(1972), the first film in the Godfather
trilogy. While its instrumental version is simply known as "The Godfather Love Theme", "Speak Softly Love" is the vocal version. The words are by Larry Kusik
but the music itself is by Nino Rota
. The signature musical theme that opens the piece closely models a theme that appears early in the Overture to "La Forza del Destino
" by Giuseppe Verdi
. There are also different sets of lyrics for the song in Italian
("Parla Più Piano") and also in Sicilian
("Brucia La Terra"). The Sicilian version is sung by Anthony Corleone
(Franc D'Ambrosio
) in The Godfather Part III
.
Rota had used a more comedic version of the song for the 1958 film Fortunella
. When this was discovered, Rota's score for The Godfather was disqualified from consideration at the 1973 Academy Awards
; it had been nominated for Best Original Score
. However, Rota's score won the 1974 Academy Award for Best Original Score, despite containing the same piece.
, other artists, such as Al Martino
and Bobby Vinton
, have also recorded the song, among many others:
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
(1972), the first film in the Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
trilogy. While its instrumental version is simply known as "The Godfather Love Theme", "Speak Softly Love" is the vocal version. The words are by Larry Kusik
Larry Kusik
Larry Kusik is an award-winning lyricist.He is perhaps best known for writing the lyrics for the tune Speak Softly Love, the love theme from the 1972 film The Godfather, however he has also written lyrics to many other movie themes, including A Time for Us from the 1968 film version of Romeo and...
but the music itself is by Nino Rota
Nino Rota
Nino Rota was an Italian composer and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti...
. The signature musical theme that opens the piece closely models a theme that appears early in the Overture to "La Forza del Destino
La forza del destino
La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino , by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed...
" by Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
. There are also different sets of lyrics for the song in Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
("Parla Più Piano") and also in Sicilian
Sicilian language
Sicilian is a Romance language. Its dialects make up the Extreme-Southern Italian language group, which are spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands; in southern and central Calabria ; in the southern parts of Apulia, the Salento ; and Campania, on the Italian mainland, where it is...
("Brucia La Terra"). The Sicilian version is sung by Anthony Corleone
Anthony Corleone
Anthony "Tony" Vito Corleone is a fictional character in The Godfather trilogy of films directed by Francis Ford Coppola. He is portrayed by Anthony Gounaris in the first film, James Gounaris in the second, and singer Franc D'Ambrosio in the third...
(Franc D'Ambrosio
Franc D'Ambrosio
Franc D'Ambrosio , is an American singer and actor, best known for his role in the stage version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. He also played the adult Anthony Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part III.Affectionately known as Phantom's "The Iron Man of The Mask", Franc D'Ambrosio...
) in The Godfather Part III
The Godfather Part III
The Godfather Part III is a 1990 American gangster film written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, and directed by Coppola. It completes the story of Michael Corleone, a Mafia kingpin who tries to legitimize his criminal empire...
.
Rota had used a more comedic version of the song for the 1958 film Fortunella
Fortunella (film)
Fortunella is a 1958 Italian film directed by Eduardo De Filippo, with script of Federico Fellini.-Music:The film's score, composed by Nino Rota, notably contains three memorable motifs, two of which would be reused in Rota's most famous film compositions: La Dolce Vita and The Godfather...
. When this was discovered, Rota's score for The Godfather was disqualified from consideration at the 1973 Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
; it had been nominated for Best Original Score
Academy Award for Best Original Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
. However, Rota's score won the 1974 Academy Award for Best Original Score, despite containing the same piece.
Recordings
The song was originally recorded by Andy WilliamsAndy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
, other artists, such as Al Martino
Al Martino
Al Martino was an American singer and actor. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid 1970s, being described as "one of the great Italian American pop crooners", and also became well known as an actor, particularly for his role as singer Johnny Fontane in The...
and Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton is an American pop music singer of Polish origin. In pop music circles, he became known as "The Polish Prince".-Early life:...
, have also recorded the song, among many others:
- SlashSlash (musician)Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
of Velvet RevolverVelvet RevolverVelvet Revolver is an American hard rock supergroup consisting of former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum, alongside Dave Kushner formerly of punk band Wasted Youth. Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland was Velvet Revolver's lead singer from their formation until...
(formerly of Guns N' RosesGuns N' RosesGuns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
) regularly performs it in concerts in a hard rockHard rockHard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
style. - JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n singer Ken BootheKen BootheKen Boothe OD is a Jamaican recording artist.-Biography:Ken Boothe was born in the Denham Town area of Kingston in 1948, the youngest of seven children, and began singing in school...
recorded a reggaeReggaeReggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
version. - Sergio FranchiSergio FranchiSergio Franchi was an Italian tenor.Franchi was born in Cremona, Italy. His father wanted him to become an electrical engineer, so he studied both music and engineering simultaneously. The family moved to South Africa in 1952, where Sergio worked part-time as a draftsman, while continuing to study...
recorded the theme song his 1976 DynaHouse album 20 Magnificent Songs. He recorded it as a medley with "I Have But One Heart" on two other 1976 albums. There is also a very rare video of Franchi singing the Medley on YouTube in an unreferenced TV appearance - Satan's Pilgrims have performed a surf rock version as well.
- Gianni MorandiGianni MorandiGianni Morandi is an Italian pop singer and entertainer.He made his debut in 1962 and quickly placed high at or won a number of Italian popular song festivals, including the Canzonissima festival in 1969. In 1970, he represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest with "Occhi di ragazza"...
had covered the song under the title "Parla Più Piano". - DalidaDalidaDalida , born with Italian name of Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti, was a world-famous singer and actress born in Egypt with Italian origins but naturalised French with the name Yolanda Gigliotti. She spent her early years in Egypt amongst the Italian Egyptian community, but she lived most of her adult...
had also covered under the title Parle plus bas (Le Parrain), as well as Tino RossiTino RossiTino Rossi was a singer and film actor.Born Constantino Rossi in Ajaccio, Corsica, France, he became a tenor of French cabaret and one of the great romantic idols of his time. Gifted with an operatic voice, a "Latin Lover" persona made him a movie star as well...
and Marie LaforêtMarie LaforêtMarie Laforêt is a French singer and actress, .In 1978 she moved to Geneva, Switzerland and took out Swiss nationality.-The sources of her birth name:...
. - A UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
version "Say, You Love Me" (Skazhy scho lyubysh) was performed by Sofia RotaruSofia RotaruSofia Mykhailivna Yevdokymenko-Rotaru known as Sofia Rotaru is a Soviet and Ukrainian pop singer of Romanian/Moldavian heritage....
in the musical film "Song Is Always With UsSong Is Always With UsPesnya vsegda s nami is a 1975 Soviet Ukrainian musical film, produced by Viktor Storozhenko starring Sofia Rotaru in the main role, as well as Soviet Ukrainian Smerichka vocal-instrumental band...
", as the Soviet administration did not allow to register the original EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
version for The Godfathers soundtrack following the offer from Ariola (Sony BMG Music EntertainmentSony BMG Music EntertainmentSony BMG Music Entertainment was a recorded music company, which was a 50–50 joint venture between the Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann AG...
). - The Tokyo Ska Paradise OrchestraTokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, commonly abbreviated by fans as Skapara or TSPO, is a Japanese ska and jazz band officially formed in 1988 by the percussionist Asa-Chang, and initially composed of over 10 veterans of Tokyo's underground scene...
has also performed a ska version of the song. Also lifted for a song "Raja ko rani se pyar ho gaya " in an Indian film Akele Hum Akele TumAkele Hum Akele TumAkele Hum Akele Tum is a 1995 Hindi musical drama released in 1995. The film starred Aamir Khan, Manisha Koirala and Master Adil, and was directed by Mansoor Khan. The music is by Anu Malik and the lyrics by the production house favorite Majrooh Sultanpuri. The plot of this film is based on 1979...
. In YugoslaviaYugoslaviaYugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
it was adapted and sung by Tereza KesovijaTereza KesovijaTereza Ana Kesovija is an internationally acclaimed Croatian singer, one of the most recognisable figures on the Balkan music scene, renowned for her wide vocal range and operatic style and one of the most important artists of the former Yugoslavia. She also had a very successful career in France...
as "Govori Tiše". - HungarianHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
pop star György Korda released the Hungarian languageHungarian languageHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
version 1974 as "Gyöngéden ölelj át és ringass szerelem". - The 1970s JapaneseJapanese peopleThe are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
pop group the Candies performed this song live in OsakaOsakais a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
in 1977 - The band FantômasFantômas (band)Fantômas is an avant-garde metal supergroup formed in 1998 in California, United States. The band is named after Fantômas, a supervillain featured in a series of crime novels popular in France before World War I and in film, most notably in the 60s French movie series.-History:Fantômas began just...
also recorded a rock/metal version of the song on their album The Director's CutThe Director's CutThe Director's Cut is an album by Mike Patton's supergroup Fantômas. All the songs are more or less recognizable cover versions of popular movie themes. This album has many more occasions of Patton using traditional vocals than Fantomas's other albums....
. - The Hot Club of Detroit recorded a Gypsy jazzGypsy jazzGypsy jazz is an idiom often said to have been started by guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt in the 1930s. Because its origins are largely in France it is often called by the French name, "Jazz manouche," or alternatively, "manouche jazz," even in English language sources...
cover of this song on their eponymous album. - The Sicilian version from The Godfather Part III appears on the music compilation Mob Hits: the Best Songs of Mafia Movies.
- Speak Softly Love, recorded in 2004 by the Norwegian singer Rein Alexander.
- The melody was used as the theme music and as a central plot device in the Soviet short animated film ContactContact (animated short film)Contact or Kontakt is an award-winning 1978 Soviet animated short film.-Plot:A painter leaves the town and walks around countryside. While he is resting on the grass, humming the melody of "Speak Softly Love" - the Love Theme From The Godfather, a large spaceship lands near him...
. - A RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
version was by Alexander Vertinsky, a SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
version by František Krištof Veselý, and a CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
version by Jiří Malásek. - Scott WalkerScott Walker (singer)Scott Walker, born Noel Scott Engel on January 9, 1943 is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and the former lead singer of The Walker Brothers. Despite being American born, Walker's chart success has largely come in the United Kingdom, where his first four solo albums...
recorded a version for his 1972 album The MoviegoerThe Moviegoer (album)- Personnel :* Scott Walker - Vocals* Johnny Franz - Producer* Peter J. Olliff - Engineering* Robert Cornford - Orchestra director...
. - A PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
version called "Fale Baixinho" was recorded by Brazilian singer Wanderley Cardoso in 1972. - German jazz pianist Wolfgang Liebert regularly performs it as a standard.
- Hip-Hop artist RZARZARobert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
of Wu-Tang ClanWu-Tang ClanThe Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...
samples the theme in "Black Mozart" on Raekwon's album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx IIOnly Built 4 Cuban Linx IIOnly Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II is the fourth studio album by American hip hop artist, and Wu-Tang Clan-member Raekwon, released September 8, 2009, on Ice H2O/EMI Records in the United States. The album experienced numerous delays to its release due to Raekwon's approach of continual re-writing...
. - The Italian version ("Parla Piu Piano", or "Io e Te") was recorded by Albanian singer Enriko Ceko in 2004.
- Actor/singer Dominic ChianeseDominic ChianeseDominic Chianese is an American film, television and theatre actor, perhaps best known for his role as Corrado "Junior" Soprano on the HBO TV series, The Sopranos.-Early life:...
, who portrayed Johnny OlaJohnny OlaJohnny Ola is a fictional character appearing in Francis Ford Coppola's film The Godfather Part II. Ola was portrayed by actor Dominic Chianese....
in The Godfather Part IIThe Godfather Part IIThe Godfather Part II is a 1974 American gangster film directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script co-written with Mario Puzo. The film is both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, chronicling the story of the Corleone family following the events of the first film while also depicting the...
, recorded the Italian version for his album Ungrateful Heart.
See also
- "Promise Me You'll Remember" ("Love Theme from The Godfather Part III")Promise Me You'll Remember (Love Theme from The Godfather Part III)"Promise Me You'll Remember " is a song written for The Godfather: Part III , the third film in the Godfather trilogy. "Promise Me You'll Remember" is the vocal version of the love theme....