This italian classic pop song was composed by Luigi Tenco during the 60s. It was sung by him and also by his girlfriend Dalida.
The song takes us back to an old Italy when people were forced to migrate (mainly to Northern Europe at that time). The singer speaks as a migrant making us perceive the feeling of being at a loss in a place which is not only foreigner and new but also strange and harsh. At the beginning he decides to leave his rural life (the road is white and unmade) because he can't stand that the future completely depends on the harvest and the climate; then he tells us about his hopes and dreams about finding a new world. He arrives in a world of lights that's a big polluted city where roads are gray. The change of environment is summerized by the image of the cart used in farming and the planes, never seen before, now flying over his head: but he simply cannot adapt to novelty and innovation and feels unfit and inadequate (the rest of the world can do everything, he cannot do anything).
In the refrain we first imagine a man kissing good-bye to the one he loves but at the end, the same refrain turns deeply melancholic because the migrant's adventure has gone completely wrong and now he cannot even come back, being completely broke. He can only miss his land and his loved ones.
CIAO AMORE CIAO
La solita strada, bianca come il sale,
il grano da crescere, i campi da arare.
Guardare ogni giorno se piove o c'e' il sole,
per saper se domani
si vive o si muore
e un bel giorno dire basta e andare via.
Ciao amore,
ciao amore, ciao amore ciao.
Ciao amore,
ciao amore, ciao amore ciao.
Andare via lontano
a cercare un altro mondo
dire addio al cortile,
andarsene sognando.
E poi mille strade grigie come il fumo
in un mondo di luci sentirsi nessuno.
Saltare cent'anni in un giorno solo,
dai carri dei campi
agli aerei nel cielo.
E non capirci niente e aver voglia di tornare da te.
Ciao amore,
ciao amore, ciao amore ciao.
Ciao amore,
ciao amore, ciao amore ciao.
Non saper fare niente in un mondo che sa tutto
e non avere un soldo nemmeno per tornare.
Ciao amore,
ciao amore, ciao amore ciao.
Ciao amore,
ciao amore, ciao amore ciao.
_________________________________________________
(english translation)
The same old road, as white as salt,
corn to be grown, fields to be ploughed.
Looking at the sky every day whether it's rainy or sunny
to know if tomorrow
you will live or die
but one day you say it's enough and you leave.
Bye love
bye love, bye love bye.
Bye love
bye love, bye love bye.
Going far away
to look for another world
saying farewell to your farmyard,
leaving with a dream.
And then thousand roads as gray as smoke
in a world full of lights, feeling you are nobody.
Skipping a hundred years in just one day
from the carts in the fields
to the planes in the sky.
And without really understanding anything, feeling like coming back to you.
Bye love
bye love, bye love bye.
Bye love
bye love, bye love bye.
Knowing to do nothing, in a world that knows all
and not having even a dime to come back.
Bye love
bye love, bye love bye.
Bye love
bye love, bye love bye.
_________________________________________________
La típica calle
blanca como la sal,
el trigo por crecer
los campos por arar.
Mirar cada día
si llueve o hay sol,
para saber si mañana
se vive o se muere.
Y un buen día decir
basta... y largarse.
Ciao amor, ciao amor,
ciao amor ciao.
Ciao amor, ciao amor,
ciao amor ciao.
Largarse, lejos,
buscar otro mundo,
decir adiós al patio,
marcharse soñando.
Y después mil calles
grises como el humo,
en un mundo de luces
sentirse nadie.
Saltar cien años
en un solo día,
de los carros en los campos
a los aviones en el cielo.
Y no comprender nada
y tener ganas de volver contigo.
Ciao amor, ciao amor,
ciao amor ciao.
Ciao amor, ciao amor,
ciao amor ciao.
No saber hacer nada
en un mundo que todo lo sabe,
y no tener un céntimo [dinero]
ni siquiera para volver.
Ciao amor, ciao amor,
ciao amor ciao.
Ciao amor, ciao amor,
ciao amor ciao.
_________________________________________________
(traducción en español)
La típica calle
blanca como la sal,
el trigo por crecer
los campos por arar.
Mirar cada día
si llueve o hay sol,
para saber si mañana
se vive o se muere.
Y un buen día decir
basta... y largarse.
Ciao amor, ciao amor,
ciao amor ciao.
Ciao amor, ciao amor,
ciao amor ciao.
Largarse, lejos,
buscar otro mundo,
decir adiós al patio,
marcharse soñando.
Y después mil calles
grises como el humo,
en un mundo de luces
sentirse nadie.
Saltar cien años
en un solo día,
de los carros en los campos
a los aviones en el cielo.
Y no comprender nada
y tener ganas de volver contigo.
Ciao amor, ciao amor,
ciao amor ciao.
Ciao amor, ciao amor,
ciao amor ciao.
No saber hacer nada
en un mundo que todo lo sabe,
y no tener un céntimo [dinero]
ni siquiera para volver.
Ciao amor, ciao amor,
ciao amor ciao.
Ciao amor, ciao amor,
ciao amor ciao.