Filastrocca Vietnamita

Annotation

Soundtrack to Italian film Grazie zia [Come Play With Me] , by Salvatore Samperi.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — European Songs

Soundtrack to Italian film Grazie zia [Come Play With Me], by Salvatore Samperi.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Black is the sky over Indochina / Where the ravens bring ruin; / A farmer grows his grain / With an eye on the sky and a stone in his hand / With an eye on the sky and a stone in his hand // A farmer forced to wage war / Eats while standing and sleeps on the ground / And if a grenade should explode / His life is already ruined / His life is already ruined // When the hawk flies lower / The farmer throws a stone at it; / This happens at Dien Bien Phu / And the raven comes crashing down / And the raven comes crashing down // Black is the sky over Indochina / Rice and grain are laid to waste / Those who are twenty, over there in the East / Know nothing of peace / Know nothing of peace // A farmer forced to wage war / Eats while standing and sleeps on the ground, / But the cowboy playing the soldier / Ends up buried in the earth / Ends up buried in the earth // Hawk, oh hawk, you come from afar / With a gentle face and a grenade in your hand / Run, run—run as fast as you can— / Run, run back to your own lands / Run, run back to your own lands __________ Italian: Nero è il cielo sull'Indocina / dove i corvi son la rovina; / contadino coltiva il grano / occhio al cielo e una pietra in mano / occhio al cielo e una pietra in mano // Contadino che fa la guerra / mangia in piedi e dorme in terra / e se scoppia una granata / la sua vita è già rovinata / la sua vita è già rovinata // Quanndo il falco vola più basso / contadino gli tira un sasso; / questo avviene a Dien Bien Phu…

Notes

The 1968 Italian 7" (CAM AMP 40, mono) does not contain 'Filastrocca Vietnamita' - it has only 'Grazie Zia' / 'Guerra E Pace Pollo E Brace'. 'Filastrocca Vietnamita' (3:21, vocals Sergio Endrigo) appears on the full soundtrack: Digitmovies CDDM227, Italy, 2012, CD; 2018 French LP reissue also exists. 7" notes: 'From the original soundtrack movie Grazie Zia'. Choir: Voci Bianche Di R. Cortiglioni; film director Salvatore Samperi; producer G. Giacchi; published by Edizioni Musicali CAM. A 1969 French 7" EP 'Grazie Zia (Merci Léa)' exists. Sung by Sergio Endrigo for the soundtrack of Salvatore Samperi's film Grazie zia (Come Play With Me); the lyric follows a peasant fighting at Dien Bien Phu against the cowboy-soldier.

About the artist

Italian film composer.

Themes

Battle of Dien Bien Phu · First Indo-China War · Grenade · Vietnamese Perspective · Anti-War · Peace · Anti-American

In collections

European Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]