Crucifixus
Enzo Avitabile Lyrics

I' ero 'o cielo, 'o cielo ca scenneva,
I was the sky, the sky that descended,

I' ero 'a terra, 'a terra ca saglieva,
I was the earth, the earth that trembled,

I' ero 'o viento, 'o viento ca sciusciava,
I was the wind, the wind that blew,

I' ero 'o mare, 'o mare ca s'agitava.
I was the sea, the sea that stirred.

I' ero 'e nnùvole tristi e mmèste,
I was the sad and gloomy clouds,

I' ero ll'aria, ll'aria 'e tempesta,
I was the stormy air,

I' ero 'o sole ca s' annascunneva,
I was the sun that hid,

I' ero 'a muntagna ca scuorno se metteva.
I was the mountain that immersed itself in darkness.

I' ero 'a croce, 'a croce 'ncopp' 'e spalle,
I was the cross, the cross on the shoulders,

I' ero 'na spina, 'a spina mièzo 'e cciglie,
I was the thorn, the thorn between the eyebrows,

I' ero 'o chiuòvo 'e l'ultima martellata,
I was the nail of the final hammer blow,

I' ero 'a frusta 'int' a 'na mana sèmpe aizàta.
I was the whip always lifted in one hand.

I' ero 'e 'mmazzate 'ncopp' 'e ccarne chiène 'e mulignane,
I was the killings on the flesh full of eggplant,

Ie 'e iastèmme d' 'a 'ggente, ie 'na sputazzata,
I was the insults of the people, I was a spit,

I' ero 'na lancia, 'a lancia 'int' 'o custato,
I was the spear, the spear in the chest,

I' ero 'o sango, ca nun s'è maie stagnato.
I was the blood that never stopped flowing.

I' ero 'a Mamma ca chiagnèva dint' 'a pòvere,
I was the Mother who cried in poverty,

Ie arèto all'uorto d'aulive tagliavo 'a rròbba,
I was the one who cut the branches in the olive garden,

I' ero Maddalena ca pe' truvà 'nu Dio perdette n'ommo,
I was Mary Magdalene who lost a man in search of God,

Ie fuie liberato e mme levàie 'a tuorno.
I was released and I took off the crown of thorns.

Ie primma ca 'o gallo cantava me l'anniaie tre vòte,
Before the rooster crowed, I denied you three times,

Ie doppo a 'nu vaso m' 'O vennètte pe' quatto sovere,
After a kiss, they sold you for forty silver coins,

Ie bell' e buòno risuscitaie d' 'a morte,
But you rose again, beautiful and good,

I' ero surdo, cecato, muto, i' ero zuoppo.
I was deaf, blind, mute, I was lame.

I' ero 'o surdato romano ca se iucàie 'a tònaca,
I was the Roman soldier who gambled for the robe,

Ie ca nun sò degno ca Tu trase: "Fàmme 'stu miràculo",
I was unworthy of you asking: "Perform this miracle for me",

Ie mme ne lavàie 'e mmane pecchè 'o fatto nun era d' 'o mie,
I washed my hands because the deed was not mine,

Ie dint' 'a sinagoga ero 'nu Messia.
In the synagogue, I was a Messiah.

Ie cu 'na pèlla 'ncuòllo dève 'e nùmmeri dint' 'o desèrto,
With a stone around my neck, I counted the numbers in the desert,

Ie pè 'o fà taglià 'a capa abballàie annanzo 'o re c' 'e 'ccoscie aperte,
I had my head cut off, displayed in front of the king with open legs,

Ie deve 'e denare c' 'o 'nteresse, ie faceve 'a vammana,
I was money with interest, I made deals,

Ie diceve 'e palle e arrubbàve, ie faceve 'a vita 'ncopp' 'o lupanàro.
I told lies, I stole, I lived like a wolf.

Ie pe' fà parià facevo 'o gladiatore,
To entertain, I became a gladiator,

Ie mme magnàve vivi pe' mestiere facevo 'o lione,
I ate people for a living, I became a lion,

I' ero 'n 'ago addò 'nu ricco nun nce passava,
I was a needle that a rich man could not pass through,

I' ero ll' acqua addò Isso cammenava.
I was the water where Jesus walked.

Ie "chi nun tenève peccate menàsse 'a primma preta",
I said, "whoever is without sin may cast the first stone",

Ie uno còmme 'a n'ato ca se mureva 'e sete,
I treated others as I would have wanted to be treated,

Ie facevo finta 'e niente c' 'a coda 'e ll' uòcchie guardàve annanzo,
I pretended not to see while looking ahead with my eyes,

Ie 'ncoppa' 'a n'ata croce ero uno 'e chilli senza speranza.
On another cross, I was one of those without hope.

Ie apprièsso 'a 'nu regno ca nun era 'e chesta terra,
I was near a kingdom that was not of this earth,

Ie 'nu sadduceo ca mazzecava sèmpe,
I was a Sadducee who always condemned,

I' ero 'a faraona d' 'e piramidi fino 'a luna,
I was the pharaoh from the pyramids to the moon,

Ie 'nu profeta cunuscevo tutte 'e scritture.
I was a prophet who knew all the scriptures.

I' ero 'nu cavaliere d' 'a tavola rotonda,
I was a knight of the Round Table,

Ie c' 'u gli elefanti arrivaie fino 'a Capemonte,
I was the one for whom even the elephants reached Capemonte,

I' ero 'o bbarbaro tanto oro quanto pesave,
I was the barbarian, weighing as much gold as I had,

Ie quanno senteve 'e tammuri votta 'a schiarà 'a iurnata.
When I heard the drums, I shouted to light up the day.

I' ero 'nu cardinale 'e 'nu tribbunale senza core,
I was a cardinal in a heartless court,

Ie chella Femmena attaccata 'a 'nu palo 'ncopp' 'o fuòco,
I was the woman tied to a pole, set on fire,

I' ero 'a rivoluzione c' 'u tutte 'e cape appese,
I was the revolution with all its leaders hanged,

Ie 'a campagna 'e guèrra, muòrti, surore e neve.
I was the war campaign, death, sweat, and snow.

Ie chillo c'a criato 'e campi 'e concentramento,
I was the one who created the concentration camps,

Ie vulevo 'o munno e nun vulevo sapè niente,
I wanted the world but didn't want to know anything,

I' ero 'na stella 'ncopp' 'o piggiamo 'e 'na coccia rasata,
I was a star on the tip of a shaved skull,

Ie uno 'e chilli sei miliuni ca nun sapevano d' essere squagliati.
I was one of those six million who didn't know they were melting away.

Ie traspurtavo 'e nire d' 'a 'na parte 'a n'ata,
I transported the ashes from one place to another,

Ie penne e faccia pittata dint' 'a 'nu recinto parcheggiato,
I had painted faces and feathers in a parked enclosure,

Ie lettere anonime e cammisa nera,
I was anonymous letters and a black shirt,

Ie mme facevo vasà 'a mana pe' rispetto 'ncopp' 'e quartieri.
I kissed my hand for respect on the streets.

I' ero ll'alleato ca purtava 'a pace facènne 'o burdèll',
I was the ally who brought peace but caused a brothel,

Ie trafficave 'e cannuni 'e coca cole e 'e bandière c' 'e stelle,
I trafficked in guns, cocaine, and flags with stars,

Ie me scetaje matina pe' appiccià chella miccia,
I woke up early to light that fuse,

Ie stevo 'o paese d' 'o muro e d' 'e spie c' 'e recchie dint' 'e cuoll' 'e pelliccia.
I was the country of walls and spies with ears inside fur collars.

Ie 'ngiarmavo 'a guerriglia contro 'e reggimi d' 'e colonnelli,
I went into guerrilla warfare against the regimes of the colonels,

Ie carcerato in Africa anni e anni simme tutti fratelli,
I was imprisoned in Africa for years, we are all brothers,

Ie c' 'o sciopero d' 'a famme libberaie l'India senza 'nu colpo 'e pistola,
I led the hunger strike that freed India without firing a single shot,

Ie 'o Pastore ca marciava c' 'e pecore 'e ogni razza 'e ogni culore.
I was the Shepherd who walked with sheep of every race and color.

Ie Susan 16 anni in Uganda prigiuniera 'e guerra,
I was Susan, 16 years old, a prisoner of war in Uganda,

Ie 'o ribbelle c' 'o fucile puntato: "chisto è 'o bastone accide 'a chillo",
I was the rebel with a gun pointed, saying: "this is the stick that kills",

Ie piccirilli, piccirilli 'e faceve faticà còmme 'e ciucci,
I was the little ones, the little ones who worked like donkeys,

Ie 'a Serva d' 'e poveri aunavo 'e malati 'nterra Calcutta.
I was the servant of the poor, burying the sick in Calcutta.

Ie 'o Monaco Santo, mmiria e stimmate mièzo 'e mmane,
I was the Holy Monk, with miracles and stigmata in my hands,

Ie accidevo e basta, frate, sòra, mamma e pate,
I killed, it didn't matter if it was a brother, sister, mother, or father,

Ie Nanninella 'a funtanera 'a botta 'e sofferenze dint' 'a 'nu lettino,
I was Nanninella, the fountain girl where suffering burst from a small bed,

Ie dint' 'a 'na vuttazzella c' 'u 'na mappatella dint' 'o dito.
I was inside a little glass with a drop on my finger.

Ie 'a nomme 'e Dio aggio sèmpe fatto 'a guerra santa,
I always fought the holy war in the name of God,

Ie ll'armi chimiche, 'o petrolio e cummannave io 'o cummanno,
I commanded chemical weapons, oil, I gave the orders,

Ie 'na minoranza etnica ca era scumparì pure ll'ombra,
I erased even the shadow of an ethnic minority,

Ie 'nu palestinese ma chiù ca n'ommo...
I was a Palestinian, but more than just a man...

I' ero nun 'o saccio si n' è valùta 'a pena,
I don't know if it was worth it,

Ie nun saccio chi ero
I don't know who I was

Ma me chiammavano 'o Nazzareno.
But they called me the Nazarene.