… Read Full Bio ↴Ornella Vanoni (born September 22, 1934 in Milan) is an Italian singer.
She started her artistic career in 1960 as a theatrical actress of Bertolt Brecht works under the direction of Giorgio Strehler. At the same time, she started singing, recording for a high-class public. The folklore and popular songs she reinvented in her recordings of this period, especially ones connected with organized crime, gave her the nickname of cantante della mala (literally translated as "singer of the bad life")
Soon after her popularity rose, thanks to the songs "Senza fine" and "Che cosa c'è" (1963) written for her by Gino Paoli. In 1964 she won the Napoli Festival with "Tu si na cosa grande".
She subsequently took part in a series of Sanremo festivals, which resulted in great successes with the songs; "Abbracciami forte" (1965), "Io ti darò di più" (1966), "La musica è finita" (1967), "Casa bianca" (1968), and "Eternità" (1970). "Casa Bianca", which came second, was the subject of the dispute between its author Don Backy and the Clan of Adriano Celentano because of copyright problems.
During the same period she released the songs "Una ragione di più", "Un'ora sola ti vorrei" and "L'appuntamento".
In 1976 she met Vinicius de Moraes and Toquinho, and she released the songs "La voglia, la pazzia, l'incoscienza e l'allegria". During the 1980s she also released "Ricetta di donna" (1980), "Uomini" (1983) and "Ti lascio una canzone" (1985, a duet sung with Gino Paoli). In 1989 she returned to Sanremo with the song "Io come farò".
In 1999 she recorded "Alberi", a duet sung with Enzo Gragnaniello. She was mostly active in live concerts and as a guest singer in recordings. In 2004 she released a duo album with Gino Paoli as a way of celebrating her 70th birthday.
In addition to her singing career, Ornella Vanoni was active in many other performing arts. Apart from the aforementioned theatre career, she also took part in movies, posed nude for the Italian version of Playboy Italy and also participated in television programmes such as a parody of a velina of Striscia la notizia.
The inclusion of her song "L'Appuntamento" on the Ocean's Twelve soundtrack sparked a renewal of interest in Vanoni in the US.
La gonna
Ornella Vanoni Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ha la mossa felina (chi è)
È più libera lei di una donna.
Ha lo spacco profondo (ahi ahi)
Qualche punto rotondo (ohi ohi)
Chi lo sa se lo sa che è una gonna.
E si liscia, si modella,
Fruscia ed esci in passerella.
Che era proprio una gran gonna.
Ciondolando sornione (ma chi)
Stava lì sul portone (ah sì)
Pantaloni notò quella gonna.
E le disse turbato (ohibò)
Lei è tutta di seta (lo so)
Se lo vuole sarà la mia gonna.
Lei decise \"niente male
Quasi quasi, mi lascio andare\".
Lo faceva già la nonna
Che era proprio una gran gonna.
Poi, volere o no,
Vuoi, a volte è bello essere donna
Vai, non c'entri tu
Ma la tua gonna...
Son passate tre ore (di già)
Ha cambiato colore (ma va)
Stropicciata qua e là quella gonna.
D'improvviso s'è aperta (oplà)
E s'è fatta più corta (voilà)
Quasi inutile ormai come gonna.
E' caduta sul tappeto
Rivelando il suo segreto
Lo faceva già la nonna,
Che era proprio una gran gonna.
Poi, volere o no,
Vuoi, e ti conviene fare la donna
Vai, non c'entri tu
Ma la tua gonna...
Son passate sei ore (ma va)
Non si sente rumore (perché)
Ora dormono già uomo e donna.
Nell'armadio sfiniti (da che)
Sono ancora abbracciati (ma chi)
Pantaloni e la sua nuova gonna.
(Grazie a Giorgio per questo testo)
Ornella Vanoni's song La gonna tells the story of a woman who walks swaying her hips and catching everyone's attention. She exudes an air of freedom that a woman cannot have. Her skirt has a deep slit and some round points that represent her sensuality. It seems that only those who know about skirts understand it. She smooths it out, models it, rustles and goes on the catwalk. Her grandmother used to do that, and she was a great skirt.
A man, who was sitting on the doorstep, sees her and notices her skirt. He tells her that it is entirely made of silk, and he desires to have it as his own. She decides to let him have it and thinks it's not a bad deal. Her grandmother used to do that too, and she was a great skirt.
The song goes on to draw a parallel between the woman's life and that of a skirt. The woman's fate is much like that of the skirt that eventually becomes useless and is discarded. The will to be a woman comes with wearing a skirt, and the skirt itself embodies a woman's sensuality.
Overall, the song is a celebration of femininity and the power that clothing and fashion have to empower women to feel confident in their own skin. The skirt represents not only the woman but also the idea that we should be comfortable with our sexuality and embrace it.
Line by Line Meaning
Dondolando cammina (chi è)
She walks swaying her hips (who is she)
Ha la mossa felina (chi è)
She has a feline movement (who is she)
È più libera lei di una donna.
She's freer than any woman.
Ha lo spacco profondo (ahi ahi)
She has a deep slit (ouch)
Qualche punto rotondo (ohi ohi)
Some round point (oh my)
Chi lo sa se lo sa che è una gonna.
Who knows that it’s a skirt.
E si liscia, si modella,
And she smooths it out, models it,
Fruscia ed esci in passerella.
Rustles and walks on the catwalk.
Lo faceva già la nonna,
Grandma used to do it already,
Che era proprio una gran gonna.
She was truly a great skirt.
Ciondolando sornione (ma chi)
Swaying slouchily (but who)
Stava lì sul portone (ah sì)
Standing there in front of the doorway (oh yes)
Pantaloni notò quella gonna.
Pants noticed that skirt.
E le disse turbato (ohibò)
And said to her upsetly (oh my)
Lei è tutta di seta (lo so)
It's all made of silk (I know)
Se lo vuole sarà la mia gonna.
If you want it, it will be my skirt.
Lei decise "niente male
She decided "not bad
Quasi quasi, mi lascio andare".
Maybe, I'll let myself go".
Lo faceva già la nonna
Grandma used to do it already
Che era proprio una gran gonna.
She was truly a great skirt.
Poi, volere o no,
Then, want it or not,
Vuoi, a volte è bello essere donna
Sometimes it's nice to be a woman
Vai, non c'entri tu
Go, it's none of your business
Ma la tua gonna...
But your skirt...
Son passate tre ore (di già)
Three hours passed (already)
Ha cambiato colore (ma va)
Changed color (oh come on)
Stropicciata qua e là quella gonna.
That skirt is wrinkled here and there.
D'improvviso s'è aperta (oplà)
Suddenly it opened up (aha)
E s'è fatta più corta (voilà)
And became shorter (there you go)
Quasi inutile ormai come gonna.
Almost useless by now as a skirt.
E' caduta sul tappeto
It fell on the carpet
Rivelando il suo segreto
Revealing its secret
Lo faceva già la nonna,
Grandma used to do it already,
Che era proprio una gran gonna.
She was truly a great skirt.
Poi, volere o no,
Then, want it or not,
Vuoi, e ti conviene fare la donna
You want to and it suits you to act like a woman
Vai, non c'entri tu
Go, it's none of your business
Ma la tua gonna...
But your skirt...
Son passate sei ore (ma va)
Six hours passed (oh come on)
Non si sente rumore (perché)
No noise can be heard (why)
Ora dormono già uomo e donna.
Now a man and woman are already sleeping.
Nell'armadio sfiniti (da che)
Exhausted in the closet (why)
Sono ancora abbracciati (ma chi)
They are still hugging (who)
Pantaloni e la sua nuova gonna.
Pants and his new skirt.
Contributed by Cameron G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Lucio Pellizzeri
Splendida canzone, non l'avevo mai sentita ma è davvero molt orecchiabile e, come sempre, magistralmemente interpretata dalla grandissima Ornella, orgoglio italiano.
gcmadrid1
Divina!!!!!!
Tiziana Atabiano
Divina, ironica e bella. Come sempre
Alessandro Caruccio
Meravigliosa
Alex Armuzzi
Deliziosa
joseph roma
Mi ricordo la ho sentita al Sistina