Enrico De Leva (1867-1955)
Salvatore di Giacomo (1860-1934
Vesuvius Ensemble
Francesco Pellegrino voice, chitarra battente
Marco Cera mandolin, guitars, ciaramella
Lucas Harris lute, guitars
With Special Guests:
Romina Di Gasbarro voice, guitar
Ben Grossman percussion, colascione, ghironda
Tommaso Sollazzo zampogna, mandolin, guitars
Recorded live by Grégoire Jeay at Heliconian Hall, December 22 & 23 2018
Mixing & mastering by Grégoire Jeay
lyrics
Nu zampugnaro 'e nu paese 'e fora,
lassaje quase 'nfiglianza la mugliera...
Se partette pe' Napule 'e bon' ora
sunanno, allero allero: Ullèro, ullèro...
E ullèro, ullèro . . .
(Ma nun era overo:
'o zampugnaro,
penzava â mugliera...
e suspirava . . .
e 'a zampogna, 'e suspire s'abbuffava...)
Cuccato 'ncopp''a paglia, 'o Bammeniello,
senza manco 'a miseria 'e na cuperta,
durmeva, 'mmiez'â vacca e ô ciucciariello,
cu ll'uocchie 'nchiuse e cu 'a vucchella aperta...
E ullèro, ullèro...
che bella faccella,
che bella resélla,
faceva Giesù
quanno 'a Madonna
cantava: "Core mio, fa' nonna nonna..."
Tu scendi dalle stelle, o Re del cielo,
e nuje pigliammo 'e guaje cchiù alleramente...
Tasse, case cadute, freddo e gelo,
figlie a zeffunno, e pure nun fa niente...
Ullèro, ullèro!
Sunate e cantate!
Sparate! Sparate!
ch'è nato Giesù!
Giesù Bambino . . .
E 'a Vergine Maria s''o tene 'nzino...
A bagpipe player from a foreign land
Left his wife who was ready to give birth.
He left for Naples quite early
playing happily: “Ullèro, ullèro . . .”
And ullèro, ullèro . . .
(But it wasn’t true:
The bagpiper
Was thinking of his wife
and sighed. . .
And the bagpipe inflated with those sighs.)
Lying down in the straw, o little baby,
Without even a simple blanket,
He slept between an ox and a donkey
With his eyes closed and his mouth open.
And ullèro, ullèro
What a beautiful little face,
What a beautiful little smile
did Jesus show
When the Madonna sang
“My little heart, lulla-lullaby.”
You descended from the stars, King of Heaven,
And our suffering is accompanied by joy.
Taxes, crumbling houses, freezing cold,
Tons of kids – and yet it all doesn’t matter!
And ullèro, ullèro!
Play and sing!
Ignite the fireworks!
Jesus is born!
Little baby Jesus . . .
And the Virgin Mary holds him on her lap.
Former member of Fela Kuti’s Egypt 80 unveils a rich, swinging new record that pulls from jazz and soul in its high-wattage songs. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 24, 2024
