… 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.
Sole
Ornella Vanoni Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tengo 'e frutte pe' cchi fa ammore
Uè ll'aglio
Acqua fresca
Accustateve ch'è ggelata
Limunate
Facce janche viche scure
Panne spase senza sole
E 'o dimane è comme ajere
Sti guagliune senza scarpe
Senza libre, senza scole
So' fantasme o song'overe
So' 'o culore d' 'a miseria
So' cient'anne è cchiù 'e 'na vita
Ca nisciuno 'e dda 'na mano
E pe' nun magna' parole
Ca se scetano a matina:
Sigarette 'e contrabbando
Bancarelle cu' 'e nnucelle
Panzerotte e zeppulelle:
È 'n'industria 'e puverielle.
Sole
E ttrase int'a 'sti viche
Sole, abbrucia chesti pprete
Tu 'o miracolo 'o può ffa'
Sole, abbrucia 'sta città.
Facce janche viche scure
Panne spase senza sole
So' ccammise o so' bandiere
E 'o dimane è comme ajere
Cca' scugnizze e mariuncielle
Se ne contano a migliara
Si nun mmorono fra n'anno
Se ne jencheno galere
Sole
E ttrase int'a 'sti viche
Sole, abbrucia chesti pprete
Tu 'o miracolo 'o può ffa'
Sole, abbrucia 'sta città.
The lyrics to Ornella Vanoni's song "Sole" paint a picture of poverty and despair in a city that seems to have lost its way. The first stanza sets the scene with descriptions of street vendors selling fruits and vegetables, garlic, and water. The second stanza introduces the contrast between the bright sun and the darkness of the faces and clothes of the people in the city. The third stanza speaks to the hopelessness of the children without shoes or access to education, who are the products of their environment. The final stanza talks about the death and imprisonment that are all too common in this city, and the chorus repeats the plea for the sun to burn away the rot and bring new life.
There is a sense of resignation in these lyrics, a recognition that the problems of this city may be too big to solve. But there is also a glimmer of hope in the repeated invocation of the sun, which represents the possibility of renewal and transformation. Ultimately, "Sole" is a song about the human cost of poverty and neglect, and the deep yearning for a better life.
Line by Line Meaning
Uè 'e nnanasse
Hey, little girls
Tengo 'e frutte pe' cchi fa ammore
I have fruit to make love
Uè ll'aglio
Hey, garlic
Acqua fresca
Fresh water
Accustateve ch'è ggelata
Be careful, it's frozen
Limunate
Lemons
Facce janche viche scure
Yellow, pale, dark faces
Panne spase senza sole
Empty streets without sun
So' ccammise o so' bandiere
Are they shirts or flags?
E 'o dimane è comme ajere
And tomorrow is like yesterday
Sti guagliune senza scarpe
These boys without shoes
Senza libre, senza scole
Without books, without schools
So' fantasme o song'overe
Are they ghosts or they exist
So' 'o culore d' 'a miseria
They are the color of misery
So' cient'anne è cchiù 'e 'na vita
They are 100 years or more of life
Ca nisciuno 'e dda 'na mano
Because no one gives them a hand
E pe' nun magna' parole
And for not saying anything
Ca se scetano a matina:
They wake up in the morning
Sigarette 'e contrabbando
Smuggling cigarettes
Bancarelle cu' 'e nnucelle
Stands with hazelnuts
Panzerotte e zeppulelle:
Panzerottes and zeppulelles
È 'n'industria 'e puverielle.
It's a business of the poor.
Sole
Sun
E ttrase int'a 'sti viche
And it falls on these streets
Sole, abbrucia chesti pprete
Sun, burn these buildings
Tu 'o miracolo 'o può ffa'
You can do the miracle
Sole, abbrucia 'sta città.
Sun, burn this city.
Cca' scugnizze e mariuncielle
Here, street urchins and beggars
Se ne contano a migliara
They are counted in thousands
Si nun mmorono fra n'anno
If they don't die within a year
Se ne jencheno galere
They end up in jail
Contributed by Xavier O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Vincenzo Minafra
bellissima! fa venire i brividi .....
Stefano Marcelli
una canzone molto bella che dice la verità sulla situazione di Napoli
italia1
Bellissima
Maria Antonietta Pace
Bellissima , bravissima!
Ho questo disco di Ornella Vanoni ,lei Fiorillo e ambrosino avete scritto questa canzone?