"Samba Italiano" (Italian Samba) is a popular samba song composed in 1965 by Adoniran Barbosa (1912âÂÂ1982), who was a son of Italian immigrants from Valinhos, Brazil, and knew well the pidgin Italian-Portuguese dialect spoken in the streets of São Paulo, mostly in the Mooca, Brás and Bexiga sections.
The lyrics are very funny and non-sensical, at least for those Italian-Brazilians who can understand the language (a great number of paulistas).
Original
Gioconda, piccina mia, <br>Va' a brincare nel mare, nel fondo, <br>Ma attenzione col tubarone, lo hai visto? <br>Hai capito, mio San Benedito?
Piove, piove, <br>Da tempo che piove qua, Gigi, <br>E io, sempre io, <br>Sotto la tua finestra <br>E voi, senza me sentire <br>Ridere, ridere, ridere <br>Di questo infelice qui
Ti ricordi, Gioconda, <br>Di quella sera in Guarujá <br>Quando il mare ti portava via <br>E mi chiamasti <br>Aiuto, Marcello! <br>La tua Gioconda ha paura di quest'onda
Free translation
Gioconda, my little girl <br>Go frolicking there, deep into the sea <br>But pay attention to the shark, did you see it? <br>Understood, my Saint Benedict?
It rains, it rains <br>It has rained for a long time here, Gigi <br>And I, always I, <br>Under your window <br>And you, without hearing me, <br>Laugh, laugh and laugh <br>At this unhappy one here
Do you remember, Gioconda <br>That afternoon in Guarujá <br>When the sea was taking you away <br>And you called me: <br>Help, Marcello! <br>Your Gioconda is afraid of this wave