’O cafè [English translation]

Milk is good

and hot chocolate is sweet,

and chamomile tea is healthy too;

orgeat syrup is refreshing and wine makes you happy,

and only water can quench your thirst.

Yet, a million people

from Naples - like me -

will have none of it,

and they live on coffee.

Oh! Coffee is so good!

Only in Naples they know how to make it;

and nobody can explain why,

it’s a real specialty, huh!

Oh! In this city, you can smell

such a scent of coffee;

and an irritable person, as irritable as he his,

now and then goes get some.

As soon as he is born, you can hear a baby

saying: «Waa waa,

[bring me] some coffee!»

And an Englishman will forget about his tea

if he gets to know

what an espresso is.

Oh! Coffee is so good!

Only in Naples they know how to make it.

This way we can explain why

here, all day long,

cup upon cup,

they buy, warm up, and drink coffee.

To drink coffee,

we find an excuse:

I offer some to another person

and some other person offers some to me;

nobody says ‟no”

because it’s an offense:

it’s been six cups already

and it’s only three in the afternoon.

However, while I’m counting them,

a friend calls me: «Ué!1

Stop by for a moment,

let’s have some coffee!»

Oh! Coffee is so good!

Only in Naples they know how to make it;

and nobody can explain why,

it’s a real specialty, huh!

Oh! In this city, you can smell

such a scent of coffee;

and an irritable person, as irritable as he his,

now and then goes get some.

As soon as he is born, you can hear a baby

saying: «Waa waa,

[bring me] some coffee!»

And an Englishman will forget about his tea

if he gets to know

what an espresso is.

Oh! Coffee is so good!

Only in Naples they know how to make it.

This way we can explain why

here, all day long,

cup upon cup,

they buy, warm up, and drink coffee.

Coffee is so good!

1. Ué is a word that is used very often in Naples to get someone’s attention.

• Artist:Domenico Modugno