Caruso

"Caruso" is a song written by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla in 1986. It is dedicated to Enrico Caruso, one of the most famous Italian tenors.

Unclear meaning of the song

Controversially, the song simply tells about the pains and longings of a man who is about to die while he is looking in the eyes of a girl who was very dear to him.

This song is most probably a way of romanticizing Enrico Caruso's last days in Sorrento and Napoli. Enrico Caruso being a great legend in Italian Lyric Opera was one of the greatest and sought-after singers during very late 19th century and early 20th century. He lived a very difficult and rather unhappy life having many challenges and problems with Italian opera houses. He gained more fame and success in the US. He was born to a very poor family in Naples. He was often attached and had several love affairs with prominent women in the performing arts who were already married. These love affairs ended tragically. With Ada Giachetti (his most passionate and longest love affair) who was already married, he had two sons, but in the end she left him for their driver. Then he met a woman 20 years his junior just a few years before he died. With her he had a daughter called Gloria, whom Lucio Dalla described in this song "Caruso".

Guardó negli occhi la ragazza quegli occhi verdi come il mare
Poi all'improvviso uscí una lacrima e lui credette di affogare
Te voglio bene assai ma tanto tanto bene sai

People said that Caruso was not really in love with Dorothy Benjamin. Later Caruso admitted his real intentions in marrying her saying, "Because I want somebody who is completely my own." Sorrento is a beautiful coastal city not far from Napoli or Naples. In the song it says "Surriento", it's the Neapolitan dialect meaning Sorrento. It's where he spent many days in convalescence before he finally died at Vesuvio Hotel in Naples.

The song Caruso may be Lucio Dalla's way of romanticizing the last days of Enrico. What is not clear is whether he is talking to his daughter or to his wife while he (Caruso) was saying, "Ti voglio bene assai ma tanto bene sai". In Italian one can say "Ti voglio bene" to a mother, son, sister, but you can also say this to your beloved, however one must know that it's not the same as "Ti amo" which can be said exclusively to the beloved person, whether your wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, etc.

If indeed Caruso said "ti voglio bene" to Dorothy (as the song suggest) it means that his affections for her is more like that of a father than that of a husband.

Lyrics

Qui dove il mare luccica
e tira forte il vento
su una vecchia terrazza davanti al golfo di Sorrento
un uomo abbraccia una ragazza
dopo che aveva pianto
poi si schiarisce la voce e ricomincia il canto:

Te voglio bene assai
ma tanto tanto bene sai
e' una catena ormai
che scioglie il sangue dint' e' vene sai...

Vide le luci in mezzo al mare
pensò alle notti la in America
ma erano solo le lampare
e la bianca scia di un'elica
sentì il dolore nella musica
si alzò dal Pianoforte
ma quando vide la luna uscire da una nuvola
gli sembrò più dolce anche la morte
Guardò negli occhi la ragazza
quegli occhi verdi come il mare
poi all'improvviso uscì una lacrima
e lui credette di affogare.

Te voglio bene assai
ma tanto tanto bene sai
e' una catena ormai
e scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai...

La potenza della lirica
dove ogni dramma e' un falso
che con un po' di trucco e con la mimica
puoi diventare un altro
Ma due occhi che ti guardano
così vicini e veri
ti fanno scordare le parole
confondono i pensieri.

Così diventò tutto piccolo
anche le notti la in America
ti volti e vedi la tua vita
come la scia di un'elica.

Ah si, e' la vita che finisce
ma lui non ci pensò poi tanto
anzi si sentiva felice
e ricominciò il suo canto:

Te voglio bene assai
ma tanto tanto bene sai
e' una catena ormai
che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai...
Te voglio bene assai
ma tanto tanto bene sai
e' una catena ormai
che scioglie il sangue dint'e vene sai...

Translation

Here, where the sea shines
and the wind howls,
on the old terrace beside the gulf of Sorrento,
a man embraces a girl
he wept after,
then clears his throat and continues the song:

I love you very much,
very, very much, you know;
it is a chain by now
that melts the blood inside the veins, you know…

He saw the lights out on the sea,
thought of the nights there in America,
but they were only the fishermen’s lamps
and the white wash astern.
He felt the pain in the music
and stood up from the piano,
but when he saw the moon emerging from a cloud
death also seemed sweeter to him.
He looked the girl in the eyes,
those eyes as green as the sea.
Then suddenly a tear fell
and he believed he was drowning.

I love you very much,
very, very much, you know,
it is a chain by now
that melts the blood inside the vein you know…

The power of opera,
where every drama is a hoax;
with a little make-up and with mime
you can become someone else.
But two eyes that look at you,
so close and real,
make you forget the words,
confuse your thoughts,
So everything became small,
also the nights there in America.
You turn and see your life
through the white wash astern.
But, yes, it is life that ends
and he did not think so much about it
on the contrary, he already felt happy
and continued his song:

I love you very much,
very, very much, you know,
it is a chain by now
that melts the blood inside the veins, you know…

I love you very much,
very, very much, you know,
it is a chain by now
that melts the blood inside the veins, you know…

Cover versions

• Florent Pagny covered the song in 1996. Released as a single, his version peaked at #2 in France and #3 in Belgium (Wallonia).
• It was covered by Antonio Forcione with Sabina Scubbia on vocals in his 1997 album Meet Me In London. In 2003, a cover version of this song was also included in Closer album of Josh Groban - a US baritone singing sensation with increasing international success.
• Lara Fabian, a multi-national singer who sings in Quebec, Canada, as well as in Belgium and the US, included this song on her En Toute Intimité album (2003). She also gave a virtuoso performance of it as part of her 2003 Tour.
• Andrea Bocelli covered the song on his debut album Il mare calmo della sera and later in his best-selling album Romanza.
• It was recorded by Italian pop music icon Mina as part of the Ti conosco mascherina double LP, originally released in 1990.
• Zizi Possi recorded the song on the album "Per Amore" (1997).
• Josh Groban covered this song in his second studio album Closer (2003).
• A slowed down version was featured on Il Divo's Siempre album released in November 2006, which includes several key changes and an arrangement of the song for four voices.
• Mercedes Sosa covered the song on her album Sino (1993).
• Perhaps the most memorable rendition was by Luciano Pavarotti, who recorded it in 1986 and had performed it many times. One of the more recent is in one of the famous The Three Tenors in Concert events and included in the bestselling Paris 1998 album.
• In 2005 the song was covered by British tenor Jon Christos on his debut album Northern Light.
• In 2007 the song was covered by Paul Potts on his first album One chance. Paul Potts is a British tenor who in 2007 became the winner of the first series of ITV's Britain's Got Talent, singing an operatic aria, "Nessun Dorma" from Giacomo Puccini's Turandot.
• In 2008 the song was covered by Next Time, a Macedonian rock band.
• in 2008 the group Pharos covered it for the album The Best POP Opera 2008

External links

Caruso Lyrics in Italian and English (Andrea Bocelli's interpretation)

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