Caterina Valente (born January 14, 1931 in Paris) is an Italian-born singer… Read Full Bio ↴Caterina Valente (born January 14, 1931 in Paris) is an Italian-born singer, dancer, and actress. She comes from an Italian artist family; her father Giuseppe was a well-known accordion player, her mother, Maria Valente, a musical clown. She had three siblings, of whom Silvio Francesco was also active in show business.

In 1952 she married juggler Erik van Aro (Gerd Eric Horst Scholz). He recognized her talent and accompanied her in her initial years of worldwide success, although they later divorced. In 1953, she made her first recordings with Kurt Edelhagen. Soon afterwards she achieved great success with songs like "Malagueña", "The Breeze and I", and "Dreh dich nicht um" with the Werner Müller orchestra. In 1955 she was featured on the "Colgate Comedy Hour" with Gordon MacRae. Between 1966 and 1972 she was a frequent guest on the Dean Martin Show. In 1972, she married the British pianist Roy Budd; they had a son, Alexander, but they divorced in 1979.

In Germany she was a major performer of Schlager music. There she recorded Cole Porter's "I love Paris" i.e. "Ganz Paris träumt von der Liebe", which sold more than 500,000 copies in (1954.) Like in other countries where she was popular, some in Germany mistakenly consider her a German singer.

Over the years, she has recorded or performed with many international stars, including Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald, Woody Herman, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Buddy Rich, Sy Oliver, Claus Ogerman, and Chet Baker.

In 2001, she released a new album Girltalk with harpist Catherine Michel. She is also the mother of singer Eric van Aro, Jr.

Dammi Retta
Caterina Valente Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tu non mi dai mai retta
Ma ti fidi troppo
Di chi gira intorno a te
E per I tipi dritti
И un invito a nozze
Un'ingenua come te

Sulaika, Sulaika

Bada a quel che fai
Chi meno se l'aspetta
Col fidarsi troppo
Si ritrova in mezzo ai guai

Ci vuole un po' d'abilitа
E soprattutto ricordar
Che il mondo intero apparterrа
A chi sa frottole... raccontar
La Fata Morgana insegnт
E Sherazade parlando, il califfo addormentт

Ma se tu non dai retta
A chi parla troppo
Pressappoco come me
La sua pazienza scappa
E finirai purtroppo
Col restartene da te

Sulaika, Sulaika
Con l'austerity
Per mille ed un anno
Definirа che aspetti
Qualcheduno che partм

Ci vuole un po' d'abilitа
E soprattutto ricordar
Che il mondo intero apparterrа
A chi sa frottole... raccontar
La Fata Morgana insegnт
E Sherazade parlando, il califfo addormentт

Ma se tu non dai retta
A chi parla troppo
Pressappoco come me
La sua pazienza scappa
E finirai purtroppo
Col restartene da te

Sulaika, Sulaika
Con l'austerity
Per mille ed un anno

Definirа che aspetti
Qualcheduno... che-e... partм

Overall Meaning

The song "Dammi Retta" by Caterina Valente is a warning about the dangers of trusting the wrong people. The singer sings to a friend who, despite being naive and easily influenced, does not listen to her warnings. She is cautioning her friend that those who surround her are not to be trusted, but she trusts them too much. The singer uses the example of the story of the Arabian Nights to illustrate how important it is to be careful with who you trust because the world belongs to those who can spin a good story. The chorus, featuring the name "Sulaika" repeatedly, is a direct address to the friend and serves to emphasize the warning.

Throughout the song, the singer is trying to convince her friend that she needs to be more discerning and not trust people too easily. The phrase "dammi retta" means "listen to me", and the singer repeats it in the chorus to emphasize the importance of her message. The warning takes on a more urgent tone as the song progresses, as the singer warns that her friend's patience will wear thin and she will be left alone if she continues to ignore her advice.

Line by Line Meaning

Tu non mi dai mai retta
You never listen to me

Ma ti fidi troppo
But you trust too much

Di chi gira intorno a te
In those who are around you

E per I tipi dritti
It's an easy win for straight shooters

И un invito a nozze
It's an invitation to success

Un'ingenua come te
For someone as naive as you

Sulaika, Sulaika
Sulaika, Sulaika

Bada a quel che fai
Watch what you do

Chi meno se l'aspetta
Those least expect it

Col fidarsi troppo
By trusting too much

Si ritrova in mezzo ai guai
They'll end up in trouble