Notes: I've got a huge chunk of the translation from here www.antiwarsongs.org/canzone.php?id=5748&lang=it I still changed some parts and checked the accuracy myself. The website also has translations in other languages, worth checking them The choir singing this song is: Arditi del Coro 1:16 The translation here is not literal. I decided to keep "suffer" because "moan" wouldn't be enough. 1:59 Rossonere /black and reds refers to the anarchist flag which is Red and Black
There is a major error in this translation in the verse: "e sulla tolda squallida, urla la scolta ognora" here it is translated into: "and over the sleazy blanket, screams the sentinel every hour" ... Does the sentinel scream over a blanket? it won't make sense... the "Tolda" is the deck of the ship, of the galleon ship... the right translation is: " and over the sleazy deck, the sentinel screams every hour" (in English SVO structure is quite rigid). The other minor issue is in the first verse: "We are the anaemic crew, (anaemic not aenemic) of an infamous prison" the crew of a "Prison"? yes and not... "We are the crew of an infamous galley" is the right translation. The Galera or Galea in Italian or Galley in English is a type of ship ( galleon - galea, sounds related right?) optimised for propulsion by oars. A galley slave was a slave rowing in a galley, either a convicted criminal sentenced to work at the oar or a prisoner of war, assigned to the duty of rowing. So in this sense, it's a jailship (very popular also in Great Britain). It would be great if the translation would be corrected.
@effemmelle I'm Italian the reason I used prison is because galley is not a word commonly used and it wouldn't be understood by average English speakers, so I deemed it appropriate to use this approximation. I will check for the other correction though
Notes:
I've got a huge chunk of the translation from here www.antiwarsongs.org/canzone.php?id=5748&lang=it
I still changed some parts and checked the accuracy myself.
The website also has translations in other languages, worth checking them
The choir singing this song is: Arditi del Coro
1:16 The translation here is not literal. I decided to keep "suffer" because "moan" wouldn't be enough.
1:59 Rossonere /black and reds refers to the anarchist flag which is Red and Black
There is a major error in this translation in the verse:
"e sulla tolda squallida,
urla la scolta ognora"
here it is translated into:
"and over the sleazy blanket,
screams the sentinel every hour"
... Does the sentinel scream over a blanket? it won't make sense...
the "Tolda" is the deck of the ship, of the galleon ship... the right translation is:
" and over the sleazy deck,
the sentinel screams every hour" (in English SVO structure is quite rigid).
The other minor issue is in the first verse:
"We are the anaemic crew, (anaemic not aenemic)
of an infamous prison"
the crew of a "Prison"? yes and not...
"We are the crew of an infamous galley" is the right translation.
The Galera or Galea in Italian or Galley in English is a type of ship ( galleon - galea, sounds related right?) optimised for propulsion by oars.
A galley slave was a slave rowing in a galley, either a convicted criminal sentenced to work at the oar or a prisoner of war, assigned to the duty of rowing. So in this sense, it's a jailship (very popular also in Great Britain).
It would be great if the translation would be corrected.
@effemmelle I'm Italian the reason I used prison is because galley is not a word commonly used and it wouldn't be understood by average English speakers, so I deemed it appropriate to use this approximation.
I will check for the other correction though
Love this song
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