Santa Lucia

The big ships depart Partono e bastimente For lands so very far away P'e terre assaje luntane They sing on board: We are Neapolitans! Cantano a buordo: So napulitane! They sing while Cantano pe tramente The gulf already disappears O golfo già scompare

And the Moon, in the middle of the sea E a luna, a mmiez'o mare A little piece of Naples Nu poco e Napule It makes them see Lle fa vede Santa Lucia Santa Lucia Far from you Luntano a tte How much melancholy! Quanta malincunia!

And they play, but their hands E sonano, ma e mmane Tremble on the strings Trèmmano n'copp'e ccorde How many memories, alas, how many memories! Quanta ricorde, ahimè, quanta ricorde! And the heart, you cannot heal it E o core num o sane Not even with the songs Nemmeno cu e ccanzone Hearing voices and sounds Sentenno voce e suone

It starts to cry Sse mette a cchiagnere It wants to return here! Ccà vo turnà! You travel the whole world Sse gira o munno sano You go to seek fortune Sse va a cerca furtuna But when the Moon rises Ma quanno sponta a luna Far from Naples Luntano a Napule You cannot stay! Num sse po sta!

Santa Lucia, you have Santa Lucia, ttu tiene Only a little bit of sea Solo nu poco e mare But, the farther away you are, the more beautiful you seem! Ma, cchiù luntana staje, cchiù bbella pare! It is the song of the sirens È o canto d'e sseirene That still weaves the nets Ca tesse ancora e rrezze

A heart doesn't want riches Core, num vo ricchezze If it was born in Naples Ssi è nato a Napule It wants to die there! Ce vo muri! Santa Lucia Santa Lucia Far from you Luntano a tte How much melancholy Quanta malincunia!