| Original | English version / Versione inglese / Version anglaise / Englanninkielinen... |
| LETTERA DEL COMPAGNO LAZLO AL COLONNELLO VALERIO | Comrade Lazlo’s Letter to Colonel Valerio |
| | |
| 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. |
| | |
| 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. |
| | |
| 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! |
| | |
| 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 |
| | |
| 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. |
| | |
| 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. |
| | |
| 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? |
| | |
| 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. |
| | |
| 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.