Primavera di Praga

Francesco Guccini

Originale	Versione inglese di Riccardo Venturi
PRIMAVERA DI PRAGA	PRAGUE SPRING
Di antichi fasti la piazza vestita grigia guardava la nuova sua vita: come ogni giorno la notte arrivava, frasi consuete sui muri di Praga.	In its ancient luxury still dress’d the square looked at his new life, grey. Night was drawing near, as ev’ry day, the walls of Prague did show usual words.
Ma poi la piazza fermò la sua vita e breve ebbe un grido la folla smarrita quando la fiamma violenta ed atroce spezzò gridando ogni suono di voce.	Suddenly life came to a standstill there and the crowd had a short cry of despair when the flames with their cruel violence broke with their cry every sound, every voice.
Son come falchi quei carri appostati; corron parole sui visi arrossati, corre il dolore bruciando ogni strada e lancia grida ogni muro di Praga.	The tanks are ready as hawks for catching preys the words are running on people’s faces sorrow is running and burning every street and every wall in Prague is launching cries.
Quando la piazza fermò la sua vita sudava sangue la folla ferita, quando la fiamma col suo fumo nero lasciò la terra e si alzò verso il cielo,	When life came to a standstill in the square the wounded crowd was sweating blood, when the flames, with their black smoke left the ground and soared in the sky,
quando ciascuno ebbe tinta la mano, quando quel fumo si sparse lontano Jan Hus di nuovo sul rogo bruciava all'orizzonte del cielo di Praga.	When everybody saw his hands stained, when the smoke spread in the distance Jan Hus was burning again at the stakes in the horizon of the sky in Prague.
Dimmi chi sono quegli uomini lenti coi pugni stretti e con l'odio fra denti; dimmi chi sono quegli uomini stanchi di chinar la testa e di tirare avanti;	Tell me: who are those people walking slow showing their fists and their mouths full of hatred? Tell me: who are those people so tired to bow their heads and to keep on surviving?
dimmi chi era che il corpo portava, la città intera che lo accompagnava: la città intera che muta lanciava una speranza nel cielo di Praga.	Tell me: his body was carried who by follow’d by all those living in town? ‘Twas the entire town, that was launching, dumb, a hope so high in the sky of Prague, a hope so high in the sky of Prague.
dimmi chi era che il corpo portava, la città intera che lo accompagnava: la città intera che muta lanciava una speranza nel cielo di Praga.	Tell me: his body was carried who by follow’d by all those living in town? ‘Twas the entire town, that was launching, dumb, a hope so high in the sky of Prague, a hope so high in the sky of Prague.