During his long career, Rota was an extraordinarily prolific composer, especially of music for the cinema. He wrote more than 150 scores for Italian and international productions from the 1930s until his death in 1979—an average of three scores each year over a 46-year period, and in his most productive period from the late 1940s to the mid-1950s he wrote as many as ten scores every year, and sometimes more, with a remarkable thirteen film scores to his credit in 1954. Alongside this great body of film work, he composed ten operas, five ballets and dozens of other orchestral, choral and chamber works, the best known being his string concerto. He also composed the music for many theatre productions by Visconti, Zeffirelli and Eduardo De Filippo as well as maintaining a long teaching career at the Liceo Musicale in Bari, Italy, where he was the director for almost 30 years.
Rota was born Giovanni Rota Rinaldi on 3 December 1911, into a musical family in Milan. Rota was a renowned child prodigy—his first oratorio, L'infanzia di San Giovanni Battista, was written at age 11 and performed in Milan and Paris as early as 1923; his three-act lyrical comedy after Hans Christian Andersen, Il Principe Porcaro, was composed when he was just 13 and published in 1926. He studied at the Milan conservatory there under Giacomo Orefice and then undertook serious study of composition under Ildebrando Pizzetti and Alfredo Casella at the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome, graduating in 1930.
Encouraged by Arturo Toscanini, Rota moved to the United States where he lived from 1930 to 1932. He won a scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Philadelphia, where he was taught conducting by Fritz Reiner and had Rosario Scalero as an instructor in composition. Returning to Milan, he wrote a thesis on the Renaissance composer Gioseffo Zarlino. Rota earned a degree in literature from the University of Milan, graduating in 1937, and began a teaching career that led to the directorship of the Liceo Musicale in Bari, a title he held from 1950 until 1978.
Rota had one daughter, Nina Rota, from a relationship with pianist Magda Longari. He died, age 67, from a coronary thrombosis in Rome.
Amarcord
Nino Rota Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Miscellaneous
Le Sud
Paroles et musique: Nino Ferrer
(C) 1975 by Éditions Paul Beuscher
1 C'est un endroit qui ressemble à la Louisiane,
À l'ItalieIl y a du linge étendu sur la terrasse
Et c'est joli
R On dirait le Sud, le temps dure longtemps
Et la vie sûrement plus d'un million d'années,
Et toujours en été
2 Y'a plein d'enfants qui se roulent sur la pelouse
Y'a plein de chiens,
Y'a même un chat, une tortue, des poissons rouges,
Il ne manque rien
3 Un jour ou l'autre, il faudra qu'il y ait la guerre
On le sait bien,
On n'aime pas ça, mais on ne sait pas quoi faire,
On dit c'est le destin
R Tant pis pour le Sud, c'était pourtant bien,
On aurait pu vivre, plus d'un million d'années,
Et toujours en été
The lyrics to Nino Ferrer's Le Sud paint a picture of a beautiful, idyllic place that resembles both Louisiana and Italy. The laundry hanging on the terrace adds to the picturesque scene. The chorus exclaims how it feels like summer will last forever and that life will continue for over a million years. The verses continue to describe the happy, peaceful life in this southern paradise, where children play on the lawn and animals like cats, dogs, turtles and goldfish all live together without conflict.
However, as the song continues, the ominous tone changes when the lyrics talk about an inevitable war. Though no one likes the idea of war, they feel that it cannot be avoided and is simply destiny. The chorus repeats, "Too bad for the South, it was beautiful, we could have lived for over a million years, and always in summer."
The lyrics to Le Sud conveys a sense of bittersweet longing for an ideal, peaceful life that may be impossible to achieve. The beautiful scenery and harmonious living situation are all threatened by the inevitability of war, making every moment of happiness and peace all the more fleeting.
Line by Line Meaning
C'est un endroit qui ressemble à la Louisiane
The setting is reminiscent of Louisiana, Italy
À l'Italie
And also, of Italy
Il y a du linge étendu sur la terrasse
Laundry hangs on the terrace, adding to its charm
Et c'est joli
Which looks pretty
On dirait le Sud, le temps dure longtemps
It feels like the South, like time moves slowly
Et la vie sûrement plus d'un million d'années, et toujours en été
Where life seems to have lasted for millions of years, and it's always summer
Y'a plein d'enfants qui se roulent sur la pelouse
There are lots of children playing and tumbling on the lawn
Y'a plein de chiens
With plenty of dogs running about
Y'a même un chat, une tortue, des poissons rouges
Including a cat, a turtle, and some goldfish
Il ne manque rien
There's nothing missing
Un jour ou l'autre, il faudra qu'il y ait la guerre
But eventually, there will come a war
On le sait bien
We all know it
On n'aime pas ça, mais on ne sait pas quoi faire
We don't like it, but we don't know what to do
On dit c'est le destin
We call it destiny
Tant pis pour le Sud, c'était pourtant bien
Too bad for the South, which was once so lovely
On aurait pu vivre, plus d'un million d'années, et toujours en été
Where we could have lived for millions of years, and it would always be summer
Writer(s): Nino Rota
Contributed by Cameron A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@josesaavedralira9855
00:00 01 Amarcord [dialecto romañol: "Yo me acuerdo"]
02:02 02 La "fogaraccia" [La "hoguera"]
04:12 03 Le "manine" di primavera [Las "manos" de la primavera]
07:20 04 Lo "struscio"/ Quel motivetto che mi piace tanto/ Stormy weather/ La cucaracha [El "perreo"/ Ese motivo que ranto me gusta/ Tiempo tormentoso/ La cucaracha]
11:11 05 L’emiro e le sue odalische/ Salomé - Abat-jour [El emir y sus odaliscas/ Salomé - Pantalla de lámpara]
13:39 06 Gary Cooper
15:00 07 La Gradisca e il principe [La Gradisca y el príncipe]
17:28 08 Siboney
19:34 09 Danzando nella nebbia [Bailando en la niebla]
21:22 10 Tutti a vedere il Rex [Todos ven el Rex]
23:45 11 Quanto mi piace la Gradisca [Cuánto me gusta la Gradisca]
26:52 12 La Gradisca si sposa e se ne va [La Gradisca se casa y se va]
29:03 13 Amarcord (chitarra e armonica)
31:20 14 Siboney (fisarmonica)
32:40 15 Amarcord (Grand Hotel)
33:22 16 Amarcord (il barbiere)
34:42 17 Amarcord (tenderness)
36:23 18 Amarcord (dancefloor part 1)
38:05 19 Amarcord (Grand Hotel) (alternate)
38:48 20 Salomé - Abat-jour (alternate)
40:38 21 Danzando nella nebbia (alternate mix)
42:26 22 Amarcord (funeral) (alternate)
43:37 23 Amarcord (theme)
44:08 24 La "fogaraccia" (film version)
48:29 25 Lo "struscio"/ Quel motivetto che mi piace tanto (alternate)
50:19 26 Amarcord (dancefloor part 2) (alternate)
52:46 27 Amarcord (zio matto a vuoto) [Amarcord (tío loco en el vacío)]
@vg5951
Mixing motorcycle…vg. calf turning 82 yrs …thank you so much love to hear the music and films…!!!😊
@alessandroramberti3705
Capolavoro
@iam8514
Как же я люблю музыку Нино Рота и фильмы Федерико Феллини!! Шедеврально...❤
@oscarsamudio8541
Amazing, bello,Hermioso❤
@danielpillot6980
Nostalgie quand tu nous tiens... La musique de Nino Rota est très élégante... et Fellini est là aussi... évidemment... ils nous embarquent pour un joyeux et beau voyage...
@sacitslay7663
Nino ROTA and FELLİNİ ,AMARCORD .. This a dream...Thanks🙏
@matteopetracca8889
Unico Fellini e Nino Rota,icona della nostra storia non è retorica dire......Che tempi......
@CharlieCanfield
1 of my all-time fav soundtracks, and a fav fellini film.
@lucaspavin3755
Me dá uma nostalgia de algo que sequer vivi...grazie mille, Nino e Federico!
@josesaavedralira9855
00:00 01 Amarcord [dialecto romañol: "Yo me acuerdo"]
02:02 02 La "fogaraccia" [La "hoguera"]
04:12 03 Le "manine" di primavera [Las "manos" de la primavera]
07:20 04 Lo "struscio"/ Quel motivetto che mi piace tanto/ Stormy weather/ La cucaracha [El "perreo"/ Ese motivo que ranto me gusta/ Tiempo tormentoso/ La cucaracha]
11:11 05 L’emiro e le sue odalische/ Salomé - Abat-jour [El emir y sus odaliscas/ Salomé - Pantalla de lámpara]
13:39 06 Gary Cooper
15:00 07 La Gradisca e il principe [La Gradisca y el príncipe]
17:28 08 Siboney
19:34 09 Danzando nella nebbia [Bailando en la niebla]
21:22 10 Tutti a vedere il Rex [Todos ven el Rex]
23:45 11 Quanto mi piace la Gradisca [Cuánto me gusta la Gradisca]
26:52 12 La Gradisca si sposa e se ne va [La Gradisca se casa y se va]
29:03 13 Amarcord (chitarra e armonica)
31:20 14 Siboney (fisarmonica)
32:40 15 Amarcord (Grand Hotel)
33:22 16 Amarcord (il barbiere)
34:42 17 Amarcord (tenderness)
36:23 18 Amarcord (dancefloor part 1)
38:05 19 Amarcord (Grand Hotel) (alternate)
38:48 20 Salomé - Abat-jour (alternate)
40:38 21 Danzando nella nebbia (alternate mix)
42:26 22 Amarcord (funeral) (alternate)
43:37 23 Amarcord (theme)
44:08 24 La "fogaraccia" (film version)
48:29 25 Lo "struscio"/ Quel motivetto che mi piace tanto (alternate)
50:19 26 Amarcord (dancefloor part 2) (alternate)
52:46 27 Amarcord (zio matto a vuoto) [Amarcord (tío loco en el vacío)]