Genova per noi [English translation]

With that iffy face

that iffy expression

we have before leaving for Genoa

and every time we wonder

whether that place we are going to

will swallow us and we'll never come back.

Yet we are somehow related

to the people there

and deep down they are as cantankerous as we are

but we are very afraid of that black sea

that moves even at night and never stands still.

Genoa for us,

those who live deep down in the countryside

those who rarely have the sun shining on the town square

and for the remaining time are drenched by rain

Genoa, as I was telling you, is just one of many ideas.

Ah, la la la la la

But that iffy face

that iffy expression

we have when we observe Genoa

and every time [we go there] we sniff it

we move cautiously

we feel a little like stray dogs.

A lull 1, a monkey, light and folly

a haze, fish, Africa, sleep, queasiness, fantasy...

Meanwhile, in the shade of their closets

they keep linens and old lavender.

Let us go back to our thunderstorms

in Genoa every day is exactly the same.

In the motionless countryside

with the rain soaking us

red prawns are a dream

and the sun is a yellow flash on the windshield...

With that iffy face

that iffy expression

we have, having seen Genoa...

1. "Macaia" is a Genoese word for humid weather with overcast sky typical of the Gulf of Genoa

• Artist:Paolo Conte