"Funiculi, Funiculà" is a Neapolitan song composed in 1880 by Luigi Denza. It was written in 1880 by Peppino Turco to commemorate the opening of the first funicular railway on Mount Vesuvius. It was presented by Turco and Denza at the Piedigrotta festival the same year. The sheet music was published by Ricordi and sold over a million copies within a year. Since its publication, it has been widely adapted and recorded.[1][2]
Edward Oxenford, a lyricist and translator of librettos, wrote the English lyrics of the song. His version of the song often appears with the title "A Merry Life".[3][4]
It became an internet meme in 2015.
Lyrics[]
A photograph of Mount Vesuvius funicular in the 19th century.
Nealopitan original[]
| Latin script | Cyrillic script |
|---|---|
Aisséra, Nanninè', mme ne sagliette, |
Айссе́ра, Наннинѐ', мме не сальетте, |
In other languages[]
- Italian
Stasera, Nina mia, sono montato
Te lo dirò? Te lo dirò?
Colà, dove dispetti un cor ingrato
Più far non può. Più far non può.
Colà, cocente è il foco, ma, se fuggi,
Ti lascia star, Ti lascia star,
E non ti corre appresso e non ti struggi
A riguardar. A riguardar.
Coro:
Lesti! Lesti! via, montiam su là!
Lesti! Lesti! via, montiam su là!
Funiculi funiculà, funiculi funiculà,
Via, montiam su là, funiculi funiculà.
Montiamo-dalla terra alla montagna
Un passo c'è; Un passo c'è;
Si vede Francia, Procida, la Spagna
E io veggo te. E io veggo te.
Tirate con le funi - è detto fatto
In ciel si va; In ciel si va;
Si va siccome il vento, a volo, a scatto
E siam già la! E siam già la!
Coro
Ell'è montata, il sai, lassù montata
La testa è già; La testa è già;
È andata sino in cima e poi tornata
È sempre qua! È sempre qua!
La testa gira, gira intorno, intorno,
Intorno a te Intorno a te
E il core canta, come il primo giorno,
Ti sposa a me! Ti sposa a me!
Coro
- English
Some think the world is made for fun and frolic,
And so do I! And so do I!
Some think it well to be all melancholic,
To pine and sigh; to pine and sigh.
But I, I love to spend my time in singing,
Some joyous song, some joyous song,
To set the air with music bravely ringing
Is far from wrong! Is far from wrong!
Listen, listen, echoes sound afar!
Listen, listen, echoes sound afar!
Funiculì, funiculà, funiculì, funiculà!
Echoes sound afar, funiculì, funiculà!
Some think it wrong to set the feet a-dancing,
But not so I! But not so I!
Some think that eyes should keep from coyly glancing,
Upon the sly! Upon the sly!
But, oh! To me the mazy dance is charming,
Divinely sweet! Divinely sweet!
And surely there is naught that is alarming
In nimble feet! In nimble feet!
Listen, listen, echoes sound afar!
Listen, listen, echoes sound afar!
Funiculì, funiculà, funiculì, funiculà!
Echoes sound afar, funiculì, funiculà!
Ah me! 'tis strange that some should take to sighing,
And like it well! And like it well!
For me, I have not thought it worth the trying,
So cannot tell! So cannot tell!
With laugh, with dance and song the day soon passes
Full soon is gone, full soon is gone,
For mirth was made for joyous lads and lasses
To call their own! To call their own!
Listen, listen, hark the soft guitar!
Listen, listen, hark the soft guitar!
Funiculì, funiculà, funiculì, funiculà!
Hark the soft guitar, funiculì, funiculà![3][4]
- French
Nina, le ciel est pur, le jour se lève
C'est le matin, c'est le matin.
Suis-moi, laisse courir, baisant la grève.
Ton pied mutin, ton pied mutin.
Là-bas, à l'horizon qui nous attire,
Comme un aimant, comme un aimant,
Le flot tour à tour monte et se retire,
Rapidement, rapidement
Nina, Nina comme ce flot-là
Nina, Nina comme ce flot-là
L'amour s'en vient, l'amour s'en va
L'amour s'en vient, l'amour s'en va
Comme ce flot-là, Funiculi, Funicula.
Nina, le ciel est clair, la brise est douce
C'est le printemps, c'est le printemps
Suis-moi, viens admirer parmi la mousse
Les lis flottants, les lis flottants
Là-bas, tout est en fête et l'oiseau chante
Aux rameaux verts, aux rameaux verts.
Pourtant, un jour viendra l'heure méchante
Des longs hivers, des longs hivers
Nina, Nina comme ce temps-là
Nina, Nina comme ce temps-là
L'amour s'en vient, l'amour s'en va
L'amour s'en vient, l'amour s'en va
Comme ce temps-là, Funiculi, Funicula.
Nina, le ciel est beau, l'étoile brille.
C'est la Noël, c'est la Noël
Suis-moi! Viens écouter, oh jeune fille,
Les chants du ciel, les chants du ciel.
Là-bas, tout est en fête et tout acclame
Les cieux rouverts, les cieux rouverts;
Ainsi ton doux regard chasse de l'âme
Les maux soufferts, les maux soufferts.
Nina, Nina comme ce jour-là
Nina, Nina comme ce jour-là
L'amour s'en vient, l'amour s'en va
L'amour s'en vient, l'amour s'en va
Comme ce jour-là, Funiculi, Funicula.
- Russian
Весёлый дождик в эту ночь по крыше
Пошёл плясать, пошёл плясать,
Шумел, звеня, то громко, то потише –
Нельзя унять, нельзя унять...
Но вот с утра сияет солнце ярко,
Тепло кругом, тепло кругом,
И мы спешим к качелям в старом парке
С тобой вдвоём, с тобой вдвоём.
Припев:
Выше, выше, к белым облакам!
Выше, выше к белым облакам!
Качели тут, качели там!
Качели тут, качели там!..
Ты летишь, легка,
Со мной всё выше в облака!
Летят качели, ветер обгоняя,
Весенним днём, весенним днём,
И сладко, сладко сердце замирает,-
Ведь мы вдвоём, ведь мы вдвоём...
Растут, растут невиданные крылья,-
Какой размах, какой размах!
Земля, река, деревья,- всё поплыло,
И синь в глазах, и синь в глазах!
Припев
На миг вверху мы словно ждём чего-то,
И снова вниз, и снова вниз.
И свод небес всё ближе, ближе - вот он,
Рукой коснись, рукой коснись…
Дрожит над нами дымка голубая,
И даль видна, и даль видна,
В твоих глазах живым огнём сияет
Сама весна, сама весна!
Припев
- Japanese
- "Oni no Pantsu" (鬼のパンツ)
It was written by Hoshiji Tanaka in 1975.
| Orijinaru | Kana | Hanji | Rōmaji |
|---|---|---|---|
鬼のパンツは いいパンツ |
おに の パンツ は、いい パンツ |
오니 노 판츠 와, 이이 판츠 |
Oni no pantsu wa, ī pantsu |
Other adaptions[]
German composer Richard Strauss heard the song while on a tour of Italy six years after it was written. He thought that it was a traditional Neapolitan folk song and incorporated it into his Aus Italien tone poem. Denza filed a lawsuit against him and won, and Strauss was forced to pay him a royalty fee.[6]
Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov also mistook "Funiculì, Funiculà" for a traditional folk song and used it in his 1907 "Неаполитанская песенка" (Neapolitan Song).[7]
Cornettist Herman Bellstedt used it as the basis for a theme and variations titled Napoli; a transcription for euphonium is also popular among many performers. Modernist composer Arnold Schoenberg arranged a version for ensemble in 1921.[8]
In 1933, Arthur Fields and Fred Hall published a parody of "Funiculì, funiculà" titled "My High Silk Hat".[9] This parody has been republished several times, including in the 1957 Gilwell Camp Fire Book.[10]
In 1947, in the Walt Disney film Fun and Fancy Free, Goofy and Donald sing to the chorus of this song.
In 1964, song parodist Allan Sherman's album For Swingin' Livers Only! included "America's a Nice Italian Name" which uses the melody.
In the late 1970s and in the 1980s the song was performed more than 20 times by the Grateful Dead during tunings.[11]
In 2004, Activision published a video-game version of the Sam Raimi Spider-Man 2 movie. In the movie and in the game, Spider-Man's alter ego Peter Parker has a job delivering pizzas. In the game, the player must deliver pizzas to various places throughout New York City before a shortened accordion and flute version of "Funiculì, Funiculà" finishes playing. As the game version of the song progresses, the tempo increases and the key shifts progressively higher, indicating that the song is nearing its end. Today, it is now known as an internet meme.
Earthworm Jim 2 has various bonus levels which use a variation of the tune as backing music.
The Japanese anime franchise Girls und Panzer uses an adaptation of the song by composer Shiro Hamaguchi as the theme song for Anzio High School, a school based on the Kingdom of Italy.
References[]
- ↑ Luigi Denza (1990). Meloncelli, Raoul. Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani.
- ↑ The Book of World-famous Music: Classical, Popular, and Folk (5th ed.). Fuld, James J. (2000). Courier. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-486-41475-1.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Popular Poets of the Period (1889). Eyles, F.A.H. Griffith, Farran, Okeden, and Welsh. p. 148.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The American Book of the Dead (1997). Trager, Oliver. Simon & Schuster. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-684-81402-5.
- ↑ Traveling Around the World with Mike and Barbara Bivona (2013). Bivona, Mike. iUniverse. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-4917-1041-8.
- ↑ Foreman, Edward (2001). Authentic Singing: The history of singing. Pro Musica. ISBN 978-1-887-11712-8.
- ↑ Nicolas Slonimsky: Russian and Soviet music and composers (2004). Slonimsky, Nicolas. Slonimsky Yourke, Electra. Routledge. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-415-96866-9.
- ↑ 273. Denza: Funiculi, funicula. Schoenberg Archives.
- ↑ Get Together Songs
- ↑ Hazlewood, Rex; Thurman, John (1957). The Gilwell Camp Fire Book: Songs and yells from fifty years of Scouting.
- ↑ Grateful Dead Archive Online. Grateful Dead Archive Online.