Gigi l’amoroso [English translation]

I'm going to tell you,

before leaving you,

the story of a little village near Napoli.

We were four friends

at the party every Saturday,

playing and singing all night long.

Giorgio with the guitar,

Sandro with the mandolin,

And I danced while playing the tambourine.

But everyone who came,

it was to listen

to the one who made every heart beat faster.

And when he arrived,

The crowd shouted:

Refrain :

Here comes Gigi l'Amoroso!,

Master of love,

with a velvet eye

like a caress,

Gigi l'Amoroso,

Always a winner,

sometimes a bit heartless,

but never without a tender touch.

Everywhere, it was a feast when he sang

Zazà, Luna Caprese, « 'O sole mio ».

Gigi Giuseppe, but everyone called him Gigi l'Amour and women were crazy about him, all of them! The wife of the baker, who closed her shop every Tuesday to go...The wife of the notary who was a real saint, et who had never cheated on her husband beforehand. And the colonel's widow! The colonel's widow no longer in mourning because he didn't like black. All of them, I say, even myself, but I...Gigi liked his freedom so much, until the day when...

A rich American woman,

with big promises of 'I love you'

proposed to him to travel to Hollywood.

'You'll be the most handsome

of all the Carusos'

she said to him until she was out of breath.

There we were at the train station,

with all our tissues,

with heavy hearts, moved by this great departure.

Even though we were proud

that he'd go beyond our borders :

Gigi was leaving to conquer America!

And when he arrived,

Everyone from the village was there.

REFRAIN

Here comes Gigi l'Amoroso!,

Master of love,

with a velvet eye

like a caress,

Gigi l'Amoroso,

Always a winner,

sometimes a bit heartless,

but never without a tender touch.

And there, in front of the crowd, he sang:

Zazà, Luna Caprese, 'O sole mio .

Gigi... when the train disappeared, we all went back home. And the next day, the village wasn't the same. The baker's wife refused to turn on her oven, the notary's wife, out of despair, took multiple lovers, and the colonel's wife closed her shutters and went into mourning for the second time. Yes, the village had really changed. And me...

The years went by,

five winters, five summers.

No news was good news, they said.

You had to have guts,

and courage and time,

just to get on and continue without him.

And despite his absence

at night, in the silence,

forgetting all our outfits and our instruments,

one heard

like a falling tear, a sigh, coming

from the back of the room, this melody :

Master of love,

velvet eye

like a caress...

Gigi...

Gigi...? Is that you over there in the dark? Wait! let me see you! But you're crying, you're crying, Gigi! It didn't work out over there, huh? And so what, so what do they understand, the Americans, besides rock music and the twist? But Gigi, what did you think? To become just like that Gigi the American? Well no, you are Giuseppe Fabrizio Luca Santini and you are Napolitano!

Listen... Giorgio is back with the guitar. Wait, Sandro is here too! But, But you can't just leave like that! Here you're at home! Here you're the king!

Do you hear that? Do you hear them, Gigi? They're all there! they should have recognised you at the station! Sing Gigi, sing, it's your fans! Sing for them, sing for me who never knew how to talk to you. Yes, go ahead, bravo Gigi, sing! Bravo, Gigi!

Carmella, Carmella! Did you know Gigi is back from America?

Cesarina, Cesarina, Come quickly! Gigi came back from Hollywood!

But, he's back, I tell you! Don't you come down!

Little boy, little boy, run and tell uncle Gennaro that Gigi has come back from America!

REFRAIN: (x3)

Here comes Gigi l'Amoroso,

Master of love,

with a velvet eye

like a caress,

Gigi l'Amoroso,

Always a winner,

sometimes a bit heartless,

but never without a tender touch.

Everywhere, it was a feast when he sang

Zazà, Luna Caprese, 'O sole mio .

• Artist:Dalida
• Album:Manuel (1974)