Bella Ciao

Anonymous

Back to the song page with all the versions

Original	26a. صوتك يا شعبي [Sawtoka ya shaabi] - Versione araba di Samih ...
BELLA CIAO 1. La cosiddetta "Bella Ciao delle Mondine" di Vasco Scansani (1952) 1. The so-called "Riceweeders Version" of Bella Ciao by Vasco Scansani (1952) Vasco Scansani. La “prima versione” del canto (anche in questa pagina), ovvero la cosiddetta “Bella Ciao delle Mondine” (ipoteticamente “cantata dalle Mondine delle Terre d'Acqua della Bassa Vercellese a partire dal 1906, quando riuscirono a conquistare il diritto alle otto ore lavorative”) è, in realtà, un falso storico. Il sommo etnomusicologo novarese Cesare Bermani, fondatore dell'Istituto Ernesto De Martino, ha opportunamente messo in luce la questione del “canto delle mondine”, sottolineando quel che ogni superstite partigiano andava dicendo da sempre: “Bella Ciao” non è affatto un canto diffuso durante la guerra e la lotta partigiana, e la sua stessa composizione potrebbe addirittura essere posteriore alla guerra. E' ciò che pensavano anche musicisti e storici del calibro di Anton Virgilio Savona e Michele Luciano Straniero, tenendo comunque conto del fatto che perlomeno alcune strofe del canto sembrano essere state documentate in una zona molto circoscritta in Emilia, tra l'Appennino Bolognese e la Repubblica Partigiana di Montefiorino (sull'Appennino modenese, dove è fiorita la leggenda di un “anonimo medico partigiano” che la avrebbe composta). Anton Virgilio Savona e Michele L. Straniero si sono spinti, come detto, a ipotizzare la sua composizione nell'immediato dopoguerra: la popolarità di “Bella Ciao” sembra avere avuto inizio inizio nel 1948, al "Festival Mondiale della Gioventù" di Praga, dove fu cantata da un non meglio precisato gruppo di studenti italiani. Tornando al “Canto delle Mondine”, Cesare Bermani ha dimostrato che Vasco Scansani, di Gualtieri (RE), mondino, marmista e pittore detto “Il Cachi” (fu anche amico del celebre pittore naïf Antonio Ligabue) lo aveva scritto, quando già “Bella Ciao” si era diffuso, riprendendone fedelmente la struttura e la melodia. Secondo il figlio di Vasco Scansani, Alfio, che conserva numerosi documenti del padre, la “versione delle mondine” sarebbe stata scritta nell'estate del 1952, mentre la famiglia Scansani si trovava al mare. Alla diffusione della leggenda del “canto originario delle mondine” avrebbe contribuito anche il fatto che a Gualtieri abitava anche Giovanna Daffini; non solo a Gualtieri, ma anche nello stesso stabile della famiglia Scansani, Palazzo Bentivoglio. Giovanna Daffini, la grande cantrice popolare, era, come è noto, proprio una mondina. Ciononostante, nella pagina manteniamo il primo posto a questo canto: un po' -oramai- per tradizione, e un po' perché il suo spostamento comporterebbe una ristrutturazione troppo ardua di questa enorme pagina. [RV] Vasco Scansani. In reality, the "first version" of the song (also on this page!), or the so-called "Bella Ciao of Riceweeders" (allegedly "sung by the Mondine [women riceweeders] of Vercelli Plain "Terre d'Acqua" [ricefields] starting from 1906, when they managed to win the right to eight working hours") is a fake. The great ethnomusicologist from Novara Cesare Bermani, a founder of the Ernesto De Martino Institute, has thoroughly studied and explained the history of the "Mondine's Bella Ciao", pointing out what every surviving partisan had constantly been saying: "Bella Ciao" was not at all a popular song during the Partisan war, and its very composition could even be post-war matter. This is what renowned musicians and historians like Anton Virgilio Savona and Michele Luciano Straniero also thought, taking into account the fact that at least some verses of the song seem to be documented in a very limited area in the region of Emilia Romagna, between the Bolognese Apennines and the “Partisan Republic of Montefiorino” (on the Modena Apennines, where an "anonymous partisan doctor" who would have composed the song gave rise to a widespread legend). As already mentioned, Anton Virgilio Savona and Michele L. Straniero supposed that the song was composed in the immediate post-war period: the popularity of "Bella Ciao" began in 1948 on a “World Youth Festival” held in Prague, when it was sung by a vague “group of Italian students”. Returning to the “Bella Ciao of Riceweeders”, Cesare Bermani demonstrated that Vasco Scansani, from Gualtieri in the province of Reggio Emilia -a riceweeder, marble worker and painter nicknamed "Il Cachi" (he was also a friend of the famous naive painter Antonio Ligabue)- wrote it when the standard "Bella Ciao" had already spread, faithfully reproducing its structure and melody. According to Vasco Scansani's son Alfio, who keeps several of his father's documents, the "Riceweeders' version" was written in summer 1952, while the Scansani family was on seaside holiday. The fact that also Giovanna Daffini was then living in Gualtieri might have contributed to the spreading of the legend of the "original song”; not only Giovanna Daffini lived in Gualtieri, but also in the same building as the Scansani family's, Bentivoglio palace. Giovanna Daffini, the great popular singer, was a woman riceweeder. Nonetheless, we keep this song in first position in this page: just for tradition, why not, and also because its replacement would entail too difficult a restructuring of this huge page. [RV] {{video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzYl5i1Ee7I}} Les Anarchistes: Tammurriata delle mondine including Bella Ciao {{video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8pgt6scZ1g}} Interpretata da / Performed by Giovanna Marini. Alla mattina appena alzata, o bella ciao, bella ciao Bella ciao ciao ciao, alla mattina appena alzata, devo andare a lavorar..! A lavorare laggiù in risaia, o bella ciao, bella ciao Bella ciao ciao ciao! A lavorare laggiù in risaia Sotto il sol che picchia giù! E tra gli insetti e le zanzare, o bella ciao, bella ciao Bella ciao ciao ciao, e tra gli insetti e le zanzare, duro lavoro mi tocca far! Il capo in piedi col suo bastone, o bella ciao, bella ciao Bella ciao ciao ciao, il capo in piedi col suo bastone E noi curve a lavorar! Lavoro infame, per pochi soldi, o bella ciao bella ciao Bella ciao ciao ciao, lavoro infame per pochi soldi E la tua vita a consumar! Ma verrà il giorno che tutte quante o bella ciao, bella ciao Bella ciao ciao ciao, ma verrà il giorno che tutte quante Lavoreremo in libertà!	BELLA CIAO اغنية تمضي [1] تغغو في بيت تستيقظ في بيت لحن لا یذوي صوتك يا شعبي ينبت سوسنة في الصخر صوتك يا شعبي لحن لا یذوي ينبت سوسنة في الصخر صوتك يا شعبي لحن لا یذوي ينبت سوسنة في الصخر مهماطال عمراليل حتماً سنغزل منه خيوط الشمس آنفض يا شعبي ركام الموت حي يا شعبي حي أنت آنفض يا شعبي ركام الموت حي يا شعبي حي أنت [Sameeh Al-Qasem] لن تكسروا أعماقنا لن تهزموا أشواقنا نحن القضاء المبرم [Che Guevara] Esa proclama es Patria o muerte [Nelson Mandela] Our primary task remains to unite our people [Issa Masoudi] إننا لمنتصرون لأن إرادتنا من إرادة الله وإرادة الله لا تقهر حي يا شعبي يا شعبي حي حي يا شعبي حي حي أنت يدك المرفوعة في وجه الظالم قاومت قاوم قاوم قاوم يدك المرفوعة في وجه الظالم قاومت قاوم قاوم قاوم حي يا شعبي يا شعبي حي حي يا شعبي حي حي أنت يدك المرفوعة في وجه الظالم قاومت قاوم قاوم قاوم يدك المرفوعة في وجه الظالم قاومت قاوم قاوم قاوم حي يا شعبي يا شعبي حي حي يا شعبي حي حي أنت يدك المرفوعة في وجه الظالم قاومت قاوم قاوم قاوم يدك المرفوعة في وجه الظالم قاومت قاوم قاوم قاوم حي يا شعبي حي يا شعبي حي يا شعبي

	[1] English translation / الترجمة الانكليزية / Traduzione inglese / Traduction anglaise / Englanninkielinen käännös: Fantasy YOUR VOICE, MY PEOPLE Your voice, my people is a travelling song It rests in one home and wakes in another Your voice is a melody that never wilts An iris that sprouts through the rock Your voice is a melody that never wilts An iris that sprouts through the rock Your voice is a melody that never wilts An iris that sprouts through the rock No matter how long the night may last, surely we will be spinning threads of the sun O my people, shake off the rubble of death Alive you are my people Alive you are O my people, shake off the rubble of death Alive you are my people Alive you are [Sameeh Al-Qasem] You will not break us (on the inside) You will not vanquish our desires We are the final judgment [Che Guevara] The proclamation is homeland or death [Nelson Mandela] Our primary task remains to unite our people [Issa Masoudi] We are victorious because our will is God's will And God's will is indomitable You are alive my people, my people, alive you are You are alive my people, alive you are, alive alive You face the oppressor with a raised fist You have resisted, resist, resist You face the oppressor with a raised fist You have resisted, resist, resist You are alive my people, my people, alive you are You are alive my people, alive you are, alive alive You face the oppressor with a raised fist You have resisted, resist, resist You face the oppressor with a raised fist You have resisted, resist, resist You are alive my people, my people, alive you are You are alive my people, alive you are, alive alive You face the oppressor with a raised fist You have resisted, resist, resist You face the oppressor with a raised fist You have resisted, resist, resist You are alive my people You are alive my people You are alive my people

Back to the song page with all the versions

Note for non-Italian users: Sorry, though the interface of this website is translated into English, most commentaries and biographies are in Italian and/or in other languages like French, German, Spanish, Russian etc.