O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao! O bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciaoįrom 1943-1945 the lyrics of Bella Ciao were modified and sung by the anti-fascist Italian Resistance, partigiani against Mussolini and the Nazi German forces occupying Italy and again in their struggle against the Italian Social Republic and its German allies during Italy’s Civil War.īella Ciao has become an anthem for anti-fascist movements worldwide and versions have been used in revolutionary events in Spain, Greece, Tunisia, Puerto Rico, and more recently in the protests in Palestine against Trump’s failed “Deal of the Century." Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciaoīella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao She was associated with the Nuovo Canzoniere Italiano movement, a left ideological political-cultural movement.īella ciao bella ciao bella ciao, ciao, ciao One of the most famous recordings of Bella Ciao was Italian singer Giovanna Daffini’s 1962 folksy rendition. The original version, “Alla mattina appena alzata,” written in 1906 by an unknown author and sung by the Mondina women while working, was an outlet for their resentment against the supervising and often cruel padroni. Lavore “monda” è l’estirpazione delle erbe infestanti dalle risaie or “the eradication of weeds from rice fields.” Abhorrent working conditions, long hours and low pay led to constant dissatisfaction and rebellious movements and riots in the early 1900s. The Mondina (from mondare, to clean) women worked in the rice paddies crouched over for hours barefoot in water up to their knees. Who died for freedom.Bella Ciao or “Goodbye Beautiful” is a 19th century Italian protest song that has its origin in the struggle of Italian women from the north of Italy who labored in the rice fields there. Oh goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, bye, bye, byeīella Ciao – English Meaning (Partisan version) O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao,īella Ciao – English Meaning (Mondine version) O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao O bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciaoīella Ciao – Original Lyrics in Italian (Partisan version) O bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao, ciao, ciao Sources: Financial Times, The Local Italy, Wikipediaīella Ciao – Original Lyrics in Italian (Mondine version) If you are interested in learning the lyrics, we’ve shared both the mondine and partigiano versions below along with their respective English translations.
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Most recently, it was revived by the Spanish Netflix series Money Heist (2017-2018), in which the song is regularly played in symbolic moments as a metaphor for freedom. Since then, Bella Ciao has been recorded and translated numerous times, performed by dozens of famous musicians, and used at protests all over the world. Both versions were recorded for the first time in 1964 by Italian folk singer Giovanna Daffini. The new lyrics tell the story of a young partisan who leaves his beloved to join the partisan militia, says goodbye for probably the last time. In the 1940s, the song was adopted and revised by the anti-fascist resistance. The original mondine lyrics describe the horrific conditions, from insetti e le zanzare ( insects and mosquitoes) and the boss’ bastone ( stick), to the curved backs of the workers. Bella Ciao, perhaps the most famous of them all, is thought to have been written in the early 19th century, though the earliest written version was recorded in Vercelli, Piedmont in 1906. It is therefore no surprise that many protest songs were born out of these excruciating work conditions.