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Original lyrics
Gioanì del lacc
«È la storia vera di Giovannin del latte
che, da re dei mungitori, divenne re dei mungi-tori.»
[«È l’improbabile storia di Giovannin del latte,
che, dopo i giorni neri,
trovò ricchezza e amore
nella terra dei toreri.»]
Gioanì del lacc, dai, salta fò del lècc,
nèta zó l’ucc che te gh’é sö söi öcc,
a l’só, l’è nòcc e te sé amò ’n pé nücc,
ma taca a tirà tète fin’a che te sé còcc.
‟Gioanì Gioanèla, per fà ’nsèma i sólcc
mè fà di sàlcc, mè caminà söi ciócc,
s’gh’à de fà ’l piöcc, bisogna deentà macc,
sgobà come magücc e mìa fà i lömagòcc.”
E i la disìa tò pàder, i tò ècc;
i à sfadigàt de bèstie a segà i pracc,
i à sbassàt zó ’l crapù come i bessòcc
per obedì al padrù, per dì de sé a i preòscc.
Ma té Gioanèla scólta mia i parécc:
a ’scoltà lur te n’ ciàpet piö di racc.
Ma gh’ét facc caso?, töcc i tò coscrécc
i campa mèi, pò dòpo i è zamò spusacc.
[Ma tè, Gioanèla, scólta mia i parécc;
cos’öt ch’i sapie lur di schèrs supurtàcc?,
che i te ciamàa boassù i tò coscrécc?:
gnoràncc col có ’n di móto, dòne, estìcc firmàcc.]
Té, dòne nisba, i dìs che te sé ströcc:
‟Sèmper in stala a trafegà col rascc”.
I t’la dà mia gna a mètes in zenöcc,
nissü i s’è rincorzìcc che a té te piàs i mascc.
[Té, dòne nisba, i dis che te sé ströcc,
te ghe fé pura come i racc, come i sacc.
Ma fómne e ache a té i te é fò di öcc:
te pica fórt ol cör apröf a i zùegn, a i mascc.]
«Ghe piàs i mascc al Gioanì? A-alura l’è, l’è ü gay.»
‹Nò, a l’fà i ghèi de quando l’à piantàt lé boasse, ache e stale,
e l’è scapàt insèma con d’ü transessuale.›
[«Ghe piàs i mascc al Gioanì? Alura l’è ü… ü gay.»
‹Nò, a l’fà i ghèi de quando l’à piantàt lé boàsse, ache e stale,
e l’è scapàt… come, s’ghe dis cosè… con d’ü… un ‟uomo sensuale”.›]
E ormai l’è piö ü mistero: l’và a spusàss del Zapatero.
Gioanì del lacc adèss a l’è piö chèl,
l’è dét inféna al còl con chèi ch’i móssa ’l cül,
l’è ’n giro co i tach vólcc, l’è ’l capo di traestìcc,
e l’à metìt sö ü denacc indóe se resta a tècc.
E i fà la fila, adèss, i nemuràcc:
fra i sò clièncc gh’è professùr e aocàcc;
anche i soldàcc i vé a fà i guère söl sò pècc.
Lü l’móns, lü l’móns, lü l’móns, lü l’móns i tòr in lècc.
[E i fà la fila, adèss, i nemuràcc,
ma l’gh’à ol compagno e i par colómb tat i è ligàcc;
però ’l Gioanì l’völ mia adotà di s-cècc:
l’la sà che sóta ’l tècc a l’gh’à la cà… di macc.
La cage aux folles.]
«Juanito del leche, el matador
che l’fà contécc i tòr.
I tòr!»
[«Juanito de la leche, è por tu amor
che batte el corazón dei matador.
I massa tòr.»]
Translation
Milk Johnny
«This is the true story of Milk Johnny1
who, from being the king of milkers, became the king of bull-milkers.»2
[«This is the unlikely story of Milk Johnny,
who, after his darkest days,
found riches and love
in the land of bullfighters.»]
Milk Johnny, come on, get out of bed,
wipe the goo from your eyes,
I know, it’s still nighttime and you’re still barefoot,
but you have to begin pulling udders, until you’re burned out.
‟Johnny, Little Johnny, to make money
you have to bend over backwards, you have to walk on nails,
you have to be a scrooge, you have to do enough to be driven mad,
you have to slog like a labourer and not to be a milksop.
They used to say that, your father and your old ones;
they toiled like animals, scything the grass in the fields,
they lowered their heads like sheep
in order to obey their master, to oblige priests.
But, Little Johnny, don’t pay attention to your relatives:
you’ll get nowhere if you keep listening to them.
Have you noticed?, all the guys your age
live better; moreover, they are married.
[But, Little Johnny, don’t pay attention to your relatives;
what do they know about the jeering you’ve had to endure?,
about the fact that people your age used to call you a bumpkin?:
those ignorant people, who are just into bikes, women and designer clothes.]
For you, no women; they say you are grubby:
‟Always in the cowshed, fiddling with a pitchfork”.
They won’t give it to you even if you get down on your knees,
nobody has noticed that you like boys.
[For you, no women; they say you are grubby;
you scare them off like rats do, like toads do.
But you’re sick and tired of women and cows:
your heart beats fast when you’re close to boys, to males.]
«Johnny likes men? The-then he, he’s a gay.»
‹No, he’s been making money since he left manure, cows and sheds,3
and he took flight with a transexual.›
[«Johnny likes men? The-then he is a… a gay.»
‹No, he’s been making money since he left manure, cows and sheds,
and he took flight… how do you say it… with a ‟sexy man”.›]4
By now, it’s no longer a secret: he’s going to Zapatero to get married.5
Milk Johnny is no longer the same now,
he’s involved up to his neck with people showing their ass,
he wears high heels, he’s the boss of cross-dressers,
and he put up such a front that you can take shelter under it.6
Now lovers are lining up:
among his clients are professors and lawyers;
even soldiers come make wars on his chest.
He milk, he milks, he milks, he milks bulls in bed.
[Now lovers are lining up,
but he has a partner and they are like doves, they have such a tight bond;
yet, Johnny doesn’t want to adopt children:
he knows that under his roof he has a… madhouse.
The cage of madwomen.]
«Juanito del leche, the matador
who pleases bulls.
Bulls!»
[«Juanito of the milk, it’s for your love
that beats the heart of matadors.
Of bull-killers.»
- 1. He is called ‟del latte” {of the milk} because he is a breeder; he milks cows and sells the milk.
- 2. It is a pun on:
mungitori /munʤiˈtori/ = people who milk.
mungi-tori /munʤiˈtɔri/ = people who milk bulls.
Who those bulls are, will be clear in the following stanzas. - 3. ghèi = money. Its pronunciation is the same as gay.
- 4. It’s a pun on the similar pronunciation of omosessuale {homosexual} and uomo sensuale {sexy man}.
- 5. Zapatero was the Spanish prime minister in 2004-2011. Homosexual marriages became legal during his government.
- 6. Meaning that he grew a pair of big breasts.
Guest on 2016-12-30✕
Collections with "Gioanì del lacc"
| 1. | LGBTQIA+ - Vol. II |
Luciano Ravasio: Top 3
| 1. | Bergamo in cammino |
| 2. | Santa Lucia |
| 3. | Piero |
Idioms from "Gioanì del lacc"
| 1. | Bend over backwards |
Comments
This is the original version. In [brackets] the dumbed-down version from the album Album de famèa.