Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu

The song of the week is a tune whose title is often mistaken… The song is “Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu” . 

 Many people think the title is “Volare”.  It was performed by Italian icon Domenico Modugno, who wrote the music and co-wrote the words along with Franco Migliacci.  Modugno was a singer and song-writer from the region of Puglia, in southern Italia.

 “Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu” won the “Festa di San Remo” for the best Italian song of 1958.  During that historical performance, Modugno moves his arms as if he were flying (volare means “to fly”).  Apparently, up until that date, Italian singers sang on stage with their arms on their chest.

The tune also won third place in  the 1958 Eurovision (for the best song in Europe) 

“Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu” was even top on the American charts for 5 weeks in 1958 – the only Italian song to ever top the American charts.   It also won two Grammy Awards – “Song of the Year” and “Record of the Year”. 

A famous Italian American by the name of Dino Crocetti, more commonly known as Dean Martin, recorded his version of the tune also in 1958, in English, with lyrics adapted by Mitchell Parish.

The song is quite a romantic song, recounting the dream that the narrator is dreaming… “a dream so beautiful that he might never dream it again”.  In this dream he paints his hands and face blue and starts to fly in the infinite sky.  The first verse proclaims that in his dream, “una musica dolce suonava soltanto per me” – “a sweet music that is playing just for me”.   The first chorus finish with Modugno singing “felice di stare qua su” – “happy to be up here” (dreaming that he is up in the sky).  The last verse claims that “la tua voce e’ una musica che suona soltanto per me” – “your voice is a music that plays just for me” .  The last line presents a very romantic contrast in which he sings “felice di stare qua giu” - “happy to be down here” (on the earth and not dreaming anymore).

This romantic song, after almost 50 years, has remained one of the most well known songs in the world.  If you want to hear it live, come hop on Tram Tracks and you can sing along with the band !