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LETTERA DEL COMPAGNO LAZLO AL COLONNELLO VALERIO | Comrade Lazlo’s Letter to Colonel Valerio |
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Fischiava il vento | The wind whistled [1] |
nella canna del fucile, | Into rifle barrels, |
rossa primavera | In the red spring |
alla fine di Aprile. | At the end of April. |
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Poi venne Maggio, | And then May came, |
l'ordine di disarmarci. | And the order to disarm us. |
Caro Valerio, | Valerio, my dear comrade: |
non dovevamo fermarci. | We wouldn’t have to stop. |
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Non dovevamo fermarci, | We wouldn’t have to stop, |
si doveva continuare, | We would have to go on. |
si fa con lo schioppo | National unity is made |
l'unità nazionale! | By the force of guns! |
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Mandando ogni uomo | We’d have to put all guys |
vestito di nero | Who are dress’d in black, |
prete, fascista o sbirro del re | Priests, fascists, king’s cops |
al cimitero | Into their black graves |
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E invece sono ancora tutti là | But all of them are still here |
con i sorrisi smaglianti, | With their dazzling smiles, |
sono là i figli e i nipoti | Their victorious, arrogant |
vincenti e arroganti. | Children and grandchildren. |
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Un proiettile a testa | Just one bullet each, |
caro il mio colonnello, | My Colonel [2], my dear, |
e non smettere di giocare | And yet, we stopped playing |
proprio sul più bello. | Right at the best moment. |
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E a chi voleva la libertà | And now, what shall we say |
cosa gli diciamo? | To them, who wanted freedom? |
Ai compagni Morti per niente | And now, what shall we tell |
cosa raccontiamo? | Our comrades, dead for nothing? |
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Che un pelato appeso a testa in giù | We’ll tell them: a baldpate hanging |
poteva bastarci. | Upside down has been enough. |
Caro Valerio, | Valerio, my dear comrade, |
non dovevamo fermarci. | We wouldn’t have to stop. |
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Ma porco dio, madonna ladra, | Holy shit! Fucking hell! |
non dovevamo fermarci! | We wouldn’t have to stop. [3] |
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[2] The song is addressed to Walter Audisio, Colonel Valerio by his nom-de-guerre, the partisan chief credited to have executed Benito Mussolini and his mistress Claretta Petacci in Giulino di Mezzegra on April 28, 1945.
[3] The blasphemies in the Italian text are much stronger than in English, true class A profanities quite uncommon to be uttered in any songtext written in Italian.