O Sarracino, Renato Carosone -- A great song and still greater performance by Renato Carosone and Gegè Di Giacomo.
Written in 1958 by Carosone and Nisa, the “Sarracino” -- etymologically “Saracen” is a nickname for a handsome, dark-haired guy, a rogue every woman dreams of, with curly hair and a suntanned face.
At first Carosone wanted this figure to be an oriental character, but Nicola Salerno (Nisa) convinced him to make the Sarracino e Neapolitan character. ‘O Sarracino appeared as a 45rpm recorded by the sextet Renato Carosone (vocal, piano) Gegè Di Giacomo (drums, percussion, voice), Piero Giorgetti (bass, voice), Raf Montrasio (guitar), Riccardo Rauchi (percussion), Gianni Tozzi Rambaldi (saxophone), Tonino Grottola (clarinet) and a special appearance of Aldo Pagani (percussion).
‘O Sarracino, ‘o Sarracino,
bello guaglione!
‘O sarracino, ‘o sarracino,
tutte ‘e femmene fa nnammura’
The Sarracino, the Sarracino,
handsome guy!
The Sarracino, the Sarracino,
all women he makes fall in love!
Tene ‘i capille ricce ricce,
‘ll uocchie ‘e brigante
e ‘o sole ‘nfaccia,
ogne figliola s’appiccia
si ‘o vede ‘e passà.
He has curly hair
the eyes of the robber
and the sun in his face
every girl is on fire
if she sees him passing
‘Na sigaretta ‘mmocca,
‘na mano dint’ ‘a sacca
e se ne va smargiasso
pe’ tutt’ ‘a città.
a cigarette in his mouth
with one hand in pocket
and goes walking, a bully,
throughout the city.
‘O sarracino, ‘o sarracino,
bello guaglione!
‘O sarracino, ‘o sarracino,
tutte ‘e femmene fa suspirà…
È bello ‘e faccia
è bello ‘e core,
sape fa’ ‘mmore!
È malandrino,
è tentatore,
si ‘o guardate
ve fa’ nnammurà.
The Sarracino, the Sarracino,
handsome guy!
The Sarracino, the Sarracino,
all women he makes sigh …
Handsome in his face,
Handsome in his heart,
he knows how to make love
He is a scoundrel
He is tempting,
if you look at him
he makes you fall in love.
E ‘na bionda s’avvelena,
e ‘na bruna se ne more.
è veleno o calamita?
chisto ‘e femmene che ll’ fa?
‘O sarracino, ‘o sarracino,
bello guaglione!
È bello ‘e faccia
è bello ‘e core,
si ‘o guardate ve fa’ nnammurà.
And a blonde takes poison,
and a brunette dies for him.
Is it poison or a magnet?
what does this guy make to women?
Sarracino, Sarracino,
handsome guy!
Handsome in his face,
Handsome in his heart,
if you look at him
he makes you fall in love.
Sarracino, sarracino,
bello ‘e faccia
bello ‘e core,
sarracino, sarracino!
Sarracino, Sarracino,
Handsome in his face,
Handsome in his heart,
sarracino, sarracino!
Ma ‘na rossa, ‘ll ata sera,
cu ‘nu vaso e cu ‘na scusa,
t’ha arrubbato anema e core!
Sarracino, nun si cchiù tu!
But a redhead, the other night,
with a kiss and an excuse,
stole your soul and heart!
Sarracino, you are not yourself any more!
Sarracino, sarracino,
bello ‘e faccia
bello ‘e core,
sarracino, sarracino!
Sarracino, Sarracino,
Handsome in his face,
Handsome in his heart
sarracino, sarracino!
Songwriters: Renato CAROSONE
‘O sarracino lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
All of the articles about the Aristodemos here on barganews can be seen here
