Santa Lucia

Saint Lucia

Santa Lucia

The big ships departPartono e bastimente
For lands so very far awayP'e terre assaje luntane
They sing on board: We are Neapolitans!Cantano a buordo: So napulitane!
They sing whileCantano pe tramente
The gulf already disappearsO golfo già scompare

And the Moon, in the middle of the seaE a luna, a mmiez'o mare
A little piece of NaplesNu poco e Napule
It makes them seeLle fa vede
Santa LuciaSanta Lucia
Far from youLuntano a tte
How much melancholy!Quanta malincunia!

And they play, but their handsE sonano, ma e mmane
Tremble on the stringsTrèmmano n'copp'e ccorde
How many memories, alas, how many memories!Quanta ricorde, ahimè, quanta ricorde!
And the heart, you cannot heal itE o core num o sane
Not even with the songsNemmeno cu e ccanzone
Hearing voices and soundsSentenno voce e suone

It starts to crySse mette a cchiagnere
It wants to return here!Ccà vo turnà!
You travel the whole worldSse gira o munno sano
You go to seek fortuneSse va a cerca furtuna
But when the Moon risesMa quanno sponta a luna
Far from NaplesLuntano a Napule
You cannot stay!Num sse po sta!

Santa Lucia, you haveSanta Lucia, ttu tiene
Only a little bit of seaSolo nu poco e mare
But, the farther away you are, the more beautiful you seem!Ma, cchiù luntana staje, cchiù bbella pare!
It is the song of the sirensÈ o canto d'e sseirene
That still weaves the netsCa tesse ancora e rrezze

A heart doesn't want richesCore, num vo ricchezze
If it was born in NaplesSsi è nato a Napule
It wants to die there!Ce vo muri!
Santa LuciaSanta Lucia
Far from youLuntano a tte
How much melancholyQuanta malincunia!