Per Te

Every two or three weeks Il Sillabo puts together a little student show for the people who are leaving that week and just to bring all the classes together.  Aneja, Gabby, and the seminaries were in the expert class and they sang, “Firenze, SMN” and “Felicita.”  It was so fantastic I had to film it and therefore have no photos.

Alex and Anna were in the biggest class, the elementary class and they sang “Watussi” (the twist) and “Parole, Parole.”  These songs were my personal favorites and the perfect way to introduce you to Tacca, who stole the show with his song.  The song is originally a woman singing to a man but Alex and Tacca (the only guys in the big class) serenaded the women instead with roses and a hilariously dramatic performance.

I am in the beginning class and our song was ‘Per Te’ by Jovanotti.  “For You,” in English; it’s a song he wrote when his daughter was born.   It’s pretty corny but I think some of the translations are really interesting and it helped me remember a lot of Italian.  I typed it up per te:

e’ per te che sono verdi gli alberi (for you the green of the trees)

e rosa i fiocchi in maternita’ (for you the pink maternity ribbons)

e’ per te tutta questa citta’ (for you this whole city)

e’ per te il 13 Dicembre (for you the 13th of december)

e’ per te la campanella a scuola (for you the field in school)

e’ per te ogni cosa che c’e’ ninna na ninna e…(for you everything little girl)

e’ per te che a volte piove a giugno (for you it rains in june)

e’ per te il sorriso degli umani (for you the smiles of man/people)

e’ per te un’aranciata fresca (for you fresh orange juice)

e’ per te lo scodinzolo dei cani (for you the dogs wag their tales)

e’ per te il colore delle foglie (for you the colors of the leaves)

la forma strana delle nuvole’ (the strange forms of the clouds)

e’ per te il succo dele mele (for you the juice of apples)

e’ per te il rosso delle fragole (for you the colors of strawberries)

e’ per te ogni cosa che c’e’ ninna na ninna e…

e’ per te il profumo delle stelle (for you the smell of the stars)

e’ per te il miele e la farina (for you the honey and the flour)

e’ per te il sabato nel centro (for you a saturday in the city center)

le otto di mattina (8 o’clock in the morning)

e’ per te la voce dei cantanti (for you the voice of the singers)

la penna dei poeti (the pen of the poets)

e’ per te una maglietta a righe (for you a striped t-shirt)

e’ per te la chiave dei segreti (for you the key to the secrets)

e’ per te ogni cosa che c’e’ ninna na ninna e…

e’ per te il dubbio e la certezza (for you the doubt and the certinty)

la forza e la dolcezza (the strength and the sweetness)

e’ per te che il mare sa di sale (for you the salt of the sea)

e’ per te la notte di natale (for you Christmas eve)

e’ per te ogni cosa che c’e’ ninna na ninna e…

Afterwards we watched an Italian film at school called “Johnny Stecchino“ with Roberto Benigni (who is quickly becoming one of my favs).  For not having any English subtitles to help me I did pretty well.  Later Alex and I were talking about TV and how much it helps for learning another language; Alex speaks Bosnian, English, German, and now Italian and he’s studying to be a lawyer.  He’s very smart, so it was funny when he proclaimed “I have learned all my English from cartoon network.  You know, ‘Dexters laboratory,’ oh I love this.”   In his thick accent it was perfect, made me smile.

Then it was a goodbye dinner for Gabby who left the next day, it started pouring halfway through the night, and we decided it was Italy’s way of saying it was sad to see her go.