English Ballads:
ancient & modern
Geordie
Turning tables
Just the way you are
Oh hey
As I walk’d o’er London Bridge
One misty morning early
I overheard a fair pretty maid,
Was lamenting for her Geordie.
"O, my Geordie will be hang’d in
a golden chain,
’tis not the chain of many,
He was born from King’s royal
breed
And lost to a virtuous lady."
Mentre attraversavo il Ponte
di Londra
Una nebbiosa mattina,
presto
Sentii per caso una bella
fanciulla
Che si lamentava per il suo
Geordie.
"Impiccheranno Geordie con
una corda d’oro
Non è una catena per molti;
È nato da stirpe reale
E fu affidato a una dama
virtuosa.
Mentre attraversavo London
Bridge
un giorno senza sole
vidi una donna pianger
d'amore,
piangeva per il suo Geordie.
• De André developed this song
taken from the English tradition.
He changed the lyrics and he
translated it from English to
Italian .
Impiccheranno Geordie con una
corda d'oro,
è un privilegio raro.
Rubò sei cervi nel parco del re
vendendoli per denaro.
• The meaning:
the traditional ballad talks about
a young girl who is lamenting
the fate of her lover; the young
girl rides on her pony to
London’s Court of Justice, but
when she arrives it’s too late:
Geordie has already been
sentenced, but the girl proclaims
her eternal devotion to her
lover.
• Sound devices used:
Assonance
Alternate rhyme
Close enough to start a war
All that I have is on the floor
God only knows what we're fighting
for
All that I say, you always say more
I can't keep up with your turning
tables
Under your thumb, I can't breathe
So I won't let you close enough to hurt
me
No, I won't ask you, you to just desert
me
I can't give you, what you think you
gave me
It's time to say goodbye to turning
tables
To turning tables
 Sound device used:
Rhyme
 Translation:
Abbastanza vicina ad iniziare
una guerra
Tutto quello che ho è qui sul
pavimento
Dio solo sa per cosa stiamo
combattendo
Per ogni cosa che dico, tu dici
sempre qualcosa in più ….
 The meaning:
the song talks about a
relationship that is not the
greatest for the singer. The two
protagonists love each other but
they don’t share the same views.
They fight a lot about stupid
stuff.
When I see your face
There's not a thing that I
would change
Cause you’re amazing
Just the way you are
 Sound device used:
Repetition/Refrain
Rhyme for assonance
Rhyme
And when you smile
The whole world stops and
stares for a while
'Cause girl you're amazing
Just the way you are
 The meaning:
it talks about Bruno Mars’
girlfriend: he tells her that
she's beautiful and he
wouldn't change a thing
about her, because anyone’s
amazing just the way he/she
is.
•
I've been trying to do it right
I've been living a lonely life
I've been sleeping here instead
I've been sleeping in my bed,
I've been sleeping in my bed.
• So show me family
All the blood that I would bleed
I don't know where I belong
I don't know where I went wrong
But I can write a song .
• Rhymes used
• Repetition
• Ho cercato di farlo nel modo
giusto
Ho vissuto una vita in solitaria
Ho dormito proprio qui
Ho dormito nel mio letto,
Ho dormito nel mio letto.
• Allora mostrami la famiglia Tutto
il sangue che avrei versato
Non so a cosa appartengo
Non so dove ho sbagliato
Ma so scrivere una canzone
The song talks about the girlfriend of the singer who has left him. In the song he
tells us that the new partner of his ex-girlfrend isn’t suitable for her and he also
tells us what he would like to do with her if they were still together .