Il dilemma [English translation]

On a beach that was scarcely serene

A man and a woman were walking

And over them the large shade of a dilemma

The man was perhaps more daring

More stupid and womanising

The woman had forgiven, but not without anguish

The dilemma was the same as usual

An elementary dilemma

Whether their love made any sense

In a house on a cliff above the ocean

There lived a man and a woman

And over them the large shade of a dilemma

Man is a peaceful animal

If he lives in his burrow

The woman might be deceiving or divine

The dilemma represents

The balance of the playing field

Because love and argument are the forms of our time

Their love was dying

Like everyone else's

Like something usual and mundane

Because dying, and giving death

Is an ancient custom

A habit of the people

He was always talking

Of hope and fear

As if they were the essence of his future self

He nourished his craving

And looked for truth

She listened quietly, perhaps she already had it

He too, oddly enough,

Like everyone had been born of a womb

But unfortunately he doesn't remember or never knew

On a day of spring

While she wasn't looking

He chased the eyes of a new girl

And even today we couldn't tell

Whether he was innocent like an animal

Or as if dumbed down by his vanity

But strangely she did wonder

Whether it was once again worth it

To love and remain faithful to her groom

Their love was dying

Like everyone else's

With the words everyone knows so well

They knew how to cry and suffer

But without blaming

History or their time

Such a desire not to leave each other

Is something we find hard to judge

Whether it's something outdated or whether it's pleasant

To the moments of abandonment

They alternated the hard effort

With the great tenacity that is inherent in ancient things

And that's the pith of this story

Worthless though it might be

Which we could indeed call resistance

Perhaps the memory of that May

Taught them, even in defeat

A sense of rigour, a cult of valour

And they decidedly refused

Our concept of free love

They were unable to accept that choice

I don't know whether to call it our choice

Or our new fate

I only know they gave themselves death

Their love was dying

Like everyone else's

Not because of something abstract

Such as family

They chose death

Because of something real

Such as family

I would like to see more clearly

To reexamine their path

The valorous battles they won and lost

I wish I could penetrate

The mystery of a man and a woman

The vast maze of that dilemma

Perhaps that desperate gesture

Might even be revealing

Like a sign of something we are about to understand

Their love was dying

Like everyone else's

Like something usual and mundane

Because dying, and giving death

Is an ancient custom

A habit of the people

• Artist:Giorgio Gaber
• Album:Pressione bassa