Bella ciao
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
O partigiano portami via, --"Bella ciao" (1943) |
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"Bella ciao" ("Goodbye beautiful") is an Italian folk song that was adopted as an anthem of the anti-fascist resistance. It was used by the Italian partisans during the Italian Civil War between 1943 and 1945 in their struggle against the fascist Italian Social Republic and its Nazi German allies. "Bella ciao" is used worldwide as an anti-fascist hymn of freedom and resistance. The song has much older origins though in the hardships of the mondina women, the paddy field workers in the late 19th century who sang it as a protest against harsh working conditions in the paddy fields in North Italy.
Recordings
One of the most famous recordings is that of the Italian folk singer Giovanna Daffini who recorded both the mondina and the partisan versions. It appears in her 1975 album Amore mio non piangere. A great number of artists have recorded the song including Herbert Pagani, Mary Hopkin, Sandie Shaw, Manu Chao and many more.
- 1965: Milva as a single taken from her album Canti della libertà
- 1970: Yves Montand as a single
- 1975: Giovanna Daffini in her album Amore mio non piangere
- 1989: Save Rose on the album Ild og frihed
- 1993: Modena City Ramblers on the album Combat Folk
- 1993: Banda Bassotti on the album Gridalo Forte Records
- 1995: Thomas Fersen on the album Les Ronds de carotte
- 1999: Diego Moreno on the album Diego Moreno Project
- 2001: Red Army Choir on the album The Definitive Collection
- 2010: Talco on the album Combat Circus
- 2011: Boulevard des airs on their album Paris-Buenos Aires
- 2011: Annie Trousseau on her album Diamonds of the West
- 2012: Goran Bregović on the album Champagne For Gypsies
- 2016: David Guido Pietroni produced a balcan version on the single ”La resistencia roja”
- 2018: Marc Ribot and Tom Waits on the album 'songs of resistance 1942 - 2018' by Marc Ribot
See also
- "Bandiera Rossa" - another Italian revolutionary song
- "Fischia il vento" – another song associated with the Italian partisans