Sarah Brightman -- La califfa
Tu non credere perche
Questa crudelta di padroni
Ha visto in me
Solo una cagna che
Mi mett' anch'
Io alla tua catena
Se attraverso la città
Questa ipocrita, tua città
Il corpo mio
Che passa tra di voi
Eun invettiva contro la viltà
Tu ritroverai con me
La più splendida proprietà
Un attimo di sole sopra noi
Alla ricerca di te
music: Ennio Morricone
lyrics: Alberto Bevilacqua
From: La Luna (2000)
and from: La Luna: non-European version (2000)
Source of the lyrics: the CD-booklet, correcting two printing errors.
See below the translation for some remarks about the possible origin of this
song and the meaning of the title.
Unfortunately the CD-booklet gives no translation of this song.
As a first attempt, I used the AltaVista Translator, but that left a lot of
words untranslated, yet it gave a good start. Thanks to Mikee Nuñez-Inton
(la_callas13@yahoo.com) and especially David Smith (smithdavid@peoplepc.com) the
translation became complete and a lot better -- some considerations are given
below the translation -- but there is probably still room for improvements; if
you have any, please let me know.
The Lady Caliph
You do not believe, because
The owners' cruelty
Has seen in me
Only a dog that
Also ties herself
To your chain.
If through the city,
This, your hypocritical city,
My body
That passes amidst of you all
Is a cry of anger against cowardice.
With me you will find once more
The most splendid place,
A moment of sunshine over all of us,
In search of you.
Some notes concerning the song and the translation, with many thanks to David
Smith and others mentioned:
> Title and possible origin of the song
The word califfa in the title of the song is not an existing word in Italian.
It is most likely meant as a female form of califfo, which means "Caliph" (or:
"Khalif"), because of the 'a' at the end of the word. Since "the female
caliph" does not sound very well and "the lady caliph" sounds more majestic,
more regal, as seems to be the intention of the song, the latter has become
the translated title.
A Caliph is a Muslim ruler. The word, generally spelled with a capital C,
comes from the Arabic for substitute or deputy: the Caliph is the
representative in absence of the Profet. The title is used by successors of
Mohammed (c.570-632) as worldly leaders of the Muslim community and protectors
of the law (they had no religeous authority).
"The caliphate of Baghdad reached its highest splendour under Haroun
al-Raschid (786-809). From the 13th century the titles Caliph, Sultan, Imam
came to be used indiscriminately, but in the 19th century Ottoman Sultans
sought to revive their claim to the title, especially Abdul Hamid II
(1876-1908). In 1924 the Turks declared the abolition of the Caliphate." --
Brewer's Consise Dictionary of Phrase & Fable, ed. Betty Kirkpatrick,
Cassell Publishers Ltd., 1992.
Another point worth noting, adds David Smith, is "that there was an Italian
film from the early seventies called La Califfa. During that period of time
there were many dark films about how tough life was in socialist/communist
Italy and I think that La Califfa film was about a woman who was badly treated
by her husband but ultimately does well in the end." This may mean that the
addressed "you" in the very last line could refer to a better world, with
freedom and a good life for all.
Vibeke Patterson (vibeke@myrealbox.com) wrote me later that "La Califfa" is a
film from 1970, and that the original music for the film was composed by Ennio
Morricone. Information on the film can be found at the Internet Movie Database
(IMDb), where I see that the move is also known as "Lady Caliph", so I made a
good choice for the translation title ...
The film was directed by Alberto Bevilacqua (1934, Italy), who also wrote the
words of this song and the scenario of the film, as well as a novel. The Lady
Caliph was played by Romy Schneider (1938-1989, Austria). There is no mention
of Morricone on the IMDb, nor is the story of the movie given.
Geoffrey Kidd (sehlat@uclink4.berkeley.edu) sent later the story as it appears
in the liner notes of the soundtrack album of the movie, which is written in
not so very good English. Guessing a little as to what is meant, we think this
summarises the story:
In the Emilia Country, the nickname "Califfa" is given to an unprejudiced
and persevering woman. The "lady Caliph" [played by Romy Schneider] hates
Doberdò [Ugo Tognazzi], the owner of the factory where her husband worked
before he was killed by the police during a riot. She learns to respect
Doberdò and the two become lovers. But in the end Doberdò is murdered by
killers hired by other industrialists he stood up against because of his
love for the "lady Caliph".
This story is not entirely in agreement with what David Smith remembers, which
is written above. ('Emilia country' is probably a region somewhere in Italy.)
Geoffrey adds that "Morricone's soundtrack is absolutely stunning!".
> Third line of the first stanza: "Ha visto -- has seen"
Unlike English, but like many other languages (Dutch, French, German, ...),
Italian has a different word for the formal you (third person, plural) and the
informal you (second person, single). Here "Ha visto" could mean "he/she has
seen" in the formal sense, also because the informal "tu" is used in other
lines. Judging from the feeling you get from the translation, the words in
this line are used in a reflective way and then "has seen in me" sounds good.
> Fourth line of the first stanza: "cagna -- dog"
Actually, "cagna" is "bitch", meaning "female dog". But since the word "bitch"
when used in English is most often used in a degrading way, it is better to
use "dog" here, and "herself" in the following line, to indicate it is a
female dog -- although the actual Italian words translate as "myself".
> Fifth line of the second stanza: "invettiva -- cry of anger"
Translating "invettiva" here is not easy. It actually means "curse" or
"insult" -- "lanciare un'invettiva" for example means "hurl an insult" at
someone -- but that does not translate well. Since you are definitely angry
when you "hurl an insult" at someone, "cry of anger" seems a good translation.
> Second line of the third stanza: "proprietà -- place"
Translating "proprietà" is a nightmare, writes David. It can mean "property",
as in an object (house, car, ...) owned, but it can also mean "correctness" as
in being dressed correctly or smartly ("properly dressed", so the say). It is
difficult to guess what is meant here, but supposing that the song is from the
above mentioned film, the fight is for a better world with a good life for
all, and then the translation could be "The splendour of being rightenous".
As Chad (strangename@hotmail.com) pointed out, this leaves out translation
"più": "more" or "most". Moreover, it seems a common inversion of words here,
and then "The most splendid rightenousness" would be better English. But
perhaps, Chad added, that the first meaning of "proprietà" is more correct, in
the form of "place" rather then "property". Thinking about "place" indeed
feels better to me, hence the change in the translation.
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