"" () is a traditional Neapolitan song, composed in 1880 by Luigi Denza, with lyrics by Peppino Turco, to commemorate the opening of the first funicular railway on Mount Vesuvius. It was presented by Turco and Denza at the Piedigrotta festival the same year. The sheet music was published by Ricordi and sold over a million copies within a year. Since its publication, it has been widely adapted and recorded.
"" was composed in 1880 by Luigi Denza in his hometown of Castellammare di Stabia with lyrics contributed by journalist Peppino Turco. It was Turco who prompted Denza to compose it, perhaps as a joke, to commemorate the opening of the first funicular on Mount Vesuvius in that year. The song was sung for the first time in the Quisisana Hotel in Castellammare di Stabia. It was presented by Turco and Denza at the Piedigrotta festival during the same year and became immensely popular in Italy and abroad. Published by Casa Ricordi, the sheet music sold over a million copies in a year.
Over the years the song has been performed by many artists including Joseph Schmidt, Erna Sack, Anna German, Mario Lanza, Beniamino Gigli, The Mills Brothers, Connie Francis, Haruomi Hosono (with lyrics translated into Japanese), Fischer-Chöre (with lyrics translated into German), the Grateful Dead, Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, Rodney Dangerfield, Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Wiggles, Larry Groce, VeggieTales, and Il Volo. In 1960, Robert B. and Richard M. Sherman wrote a new set of English lyrics to the melody of "" with the title "Dream Boy". Annette Funicello included the song on her album of Italian songs titled Italiannette and also released it as a single that became a minor hit.
Music publishers Spear & Dehnhoff of New York City published sheet music for a song titled "Tra-la-la-lee" in 1884, subtitled "A popular dancing song, adapted and arranged by W. T. Harris." It contains English lyrics set to Denza's "" melody, and contains no attribution to Denza.
German composer Richard Strauss heard the song while on a tour of Italy six years after it was written. He thought that it was a traditional Neapolitan folk song and incorporated it into his ' tone poem. Denza filed a lawsuit against him and won, and Strauss was forced to pay him a royalty fee. Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov also mistook "" for a traditional folk song and used it in his 1907 "" (Neapolitan Song).
Cornettist Herman Bellstedt used it as the basis for a theme and variations titled Napoli; a transcription for euphonium is also popular among many performers. Modernist composer Arnold Schoenberg arranged a version for the ensemble in 1921.
Since Denza died in 1922, the song has been in the public domain since 1 January 1993.
In Turco's original lyrics, a young man compares his sweetheart to a volcano, and invites her to join him in a romantic trip to the summit.
Edward Oxenford, a lyricist and translator of librettos, wrote lyrics, with scant relationship to those of the original version, that became traditional in English-speaking countries. His version of the song often appears with the title "A Merry Life".
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