Originale | Traduzione inglese di Lorenzo Masetti
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BANDITO SENZA TEMPO | A TIMELESS OUTLAW |
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Un tempo fu un bandito | Once he was an outlaw, |
bandito senza tempo | a timeless outlaw. |
uccise un presidente | He killed a president, |
ne ferì altri cento | and a hundred more were wounded. |
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Forse fu a vent’anni | Maybe he was twenty, |
o forse due di meno | or perhaps two years younger, |
era con Gaetano Bresci | he was with Gaetano Bresci |
sopra una nave lungo il Tirreno. | along the Tyrrhenian Sea. |
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Giocarono a tresette | They played three and seven, |
tresette con il morto | three and seven with the ghost. |
il terzo era un gendarme | The third one was a cop, |
il quarto un re dal fiato corto | the fourth one a king, and his breath was short. |
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un tempo fu a Milano | Once he found himself in Milan, |
dove si va a lavorare | where people go to work, |
c’erano tante bande | there were as many gangs, |
quante banche da rapinare. | as many banks to rob. |
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Forse fu per caso | Maybe it was by chance |
che con Pietro Cavallero | that with Pietro Cavallero, |
fece la comparsa | he made an appearance |
in un film in bianco e nero. | in a black and white movie. |
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Gli diedero fucili | They handed him rifles |
e pistole di terza mano | and third-hand guns, |
un passaporto falso | and a fake passport, |
per fuggire via lontano. | to run away far from there. |
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Un tempo per paura | Once upon a time for fear, |
o forse per coraggio | or maybe for bravery, |
si fece catturare | he was captured |
alla catena di montaggio | on the assembly line. |
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Quel tempo chi lo ricorda | Who remembers that time |
lo Stato aveva mal di cuore | when the State suffered a heartache, |
così a Renato Curcio | he borrowed from Renato Curcio |
chiese in prestito nuove parole. | some brand new words. |
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Con quelle partì all’assalto | With those words he set off |
di nuovi mulini a vento | to attack new windmills, |
incontrò anche un sorriso | and he even found a smile |
lungo la strada che porta a Trento. | along the road to Trento. |
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Un tempo questo tempo | In these last days, |
con un’arma un po’ speciale | he uses a rather special gun, |
una Magnum Les Paul | a Magnum Les Paul, |
spara canzoni che fanno male. | that shots hurting songs. |
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Ora ha una nuova banda | Now he has a new band, |
e un fazzoletto rosso e nero | and a black and red scarf, |
quando attacca “I Fought the Law” | when he starts “I Fought the Law,” |
fa saltare il mondo intero. | he blows up the whole world. |
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Ma un tempo fu un bandito | But once he was an outlaw, |
bandito senza tempo | a timeless outlaw. |
veniva con la pioggia | He came with the rain, |
e se ne andava via col vento…. | and he went with the wind. |