Francesco De Gregori - La leva calcistica della classe '68 (English translation)

English

Translation

#1#2

The Football Lever of the Class of '68

Sun on the roof of the buildings under construction,

sun beating on the football field

and ground dust that the wind blows and then maybe it rains.

Nino walks like a man,

with hard rubber shoes

12 years old and a heart full of fear.

But Nino don't be afraid to miss a penalty kick,

It is not by these details that a player is judged

you see a player by their courage, altruism, and imagination.

And who knows how many you have seen and how many sad

players you will see who have never won

and they hung their shoes on some kind of wall

and now they laugh inside a bar,

and they have been in love for ten years

with a woman they have never loved.

Who knows how many you have seen, who knows how many you will see.

Nino understood from the first moment,

the coach looked pleased

and so then he put his heart inside the shoes

and he ran faster than the wind.

He took a ball that looked bewitched,

it stayed glued next to his foot,

he walked into the penalty area, shot without looking

and the goalkeeper let it through.

But Nino don't be afraid to miss a penalty kick,

It is not by these details that a player is judged

you see a player by their courage, altruism, and imagination.

The boy will do, even if his shoulders are narrow,

this next year he will play with the #7 jersey.

Italian

Original lyrics

English #1, #2

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