Santa Lucia (words in English)

Amateur rendition of a well-known traditional Neapolitan song. According to the wikipedia: "It was transcribed by Teodoro Cottrau (1827--1879) and published by the Cottrau firm, as a "barcarolla", at Naples in 1849. Cottrau translated it from Napuletano into Italian during the first stage of the Risorgimento, the first Neapolitan song to be given Italian lyrics. Its transcriber, who is very often credited as its composer, was the son of the French-born Italian composer and collector of songs Guillaume Louis Cottrau (1797--1847). ... The Neapolitan lyrics of Santa Lucia celebrate the picturesque waterfront district, Borgo Santa Lucia, in the Bay of Naples, in the invitation of a boatman to take a turn in his boat, the better to enjoy the cool of the evening."

The words to this English version of the song follow:
Silver the distant shore,
Moonlight is gleaming,
Now on the waters
My boat lies dreaming.
Under a starry sky
Mandolines playing,
Breezes so gently blow,
Blossoms are swaying.

Softly a serenade
Whispers "I love you,
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!

Midst joy and happiness,
Twilight is falling.
Now distant voices
Sweet songs are calling.
O lovely Napoli,
Earth's fairest treasure,
Fountain of harmony
Source of all pleasure.

Deep in my memory
Thoughts of you linger;
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Santa Lucia
• Teodoro Cottrau
• Bay of Naples

[cmfpolipathellis]

What a graceful perfomance! I wish I had it's lyricks...

[singheadvoice]

@cmfpolipathellis

Thanks for the compliment. The English words are in the description. Just click on the "More Info" (or whatever it is called) button under the "Description" here for this song.

[singheadvoice]

Hi, SilliChad18. I noticed your comment about loving "Che Gelida Manina." I am currently trying to optimize my performance on that song, which I am now doing at the official pitch. It has been a great learning experience in singing for me. If you like, I will be glad to send you a message when I upload my next version, which I hope is closer to what I can do with that song. As I listen to what I am doing now, I realize that my voice is lighter than those of most, which makes me a "lyric tenor."

[singheadvoice]

Yes, of course it's from Italy! I have a couple of Italian songs already on this channel, namely, "Ombra Mai Fu" and parts of "The Prayer." I will soon be putting up my first full operatic song in Italian, namely, "Que Gelida Manina," from the "La Boheme" opera by Puccini. It's along song, with a recitatif followed by an aria, all sung in Italian. It's really my first attempt at that kind of opera, i.e., singing a conversation with another person.

[singheadvoice]

You're welcome. Did you listen to my new version, sung a semitone higher?

[simplycute333]

i really wanted the english lyrics and thanks for posting but some of the words i really cant understand ...,

[singheadvoice]

SimplyCute333, please find the words in the song description. Click the "more info..." button above when playing this page. Thanks for listening. I was going to do a new version, as I intend for most of the songs I did before late last summer, but I like this old version for this song so much that I may not do it for this one. However, perhaps I will try a new version to Italian words. If you speak Italian and want to help me with the pronounciation and translation, please let me know.

[LisaandFranksMom]

I love Mario Lanza's version...thank you so much for the English words!  I'm American-Italian and don't know any Italian!

[dayfan1962]

Thank you for the English words. I've always loved this beautiful melody in Italian. I like Jeanette McDonald's version too.

[TonyDent84]

Thank you so much for posting this....it was beautiful...it feels good to hear it in English for a change.

[interstateruler]

This song is from Italy

[tonydileo]

hello, not a competition and publicity thanks ...

[tuetran]

fountain of harmony