Notte prima degli esami - Night before exams

By Robertoit | Songs and art from Italy | 25 May 2020

The song traces the events of a summer night. The "four boys" who are mentioned at the beginning of the piece probably have finished their performance and leave the room taking away the instruments. "Life does not break them" - a phrase in which it is clearly understood that all of them pursue a dream - is indirectly a cultured quote: the pines of Rome, which "do not break", are those of Respighi's work. They talk about platitudes, about the fact that 'climbing' secretaries get married by lawyers, and about something more serious.

A new fun way to learn the Italian language: the best songs accompanied by the text in Italian and translated into English.

Italian Text

Io mi ricordo quattro ragazzi con la chitarra
E un pianoforte sulla spalla,
Come i pini di Roma la vita non li spezza,
Questa notte è ancora nostra,
Come fanno le segretarie con gli occhiali a farsi sposare dagli avvocati
Le bombe delle sei non fanno male,
è solo il giorno che muore, è solo il giorno che muore
Gli esami sono vicini e tu sei troppo lontana dalla mia stanza,
Tuo padre sembra Dante e tuo fratello Ariosto,
Stasera al solito posto, la luna sembra strana
Sarà che non ti vedo da una settimana
Maturità t'avessi preso prima, le mie mani sul tuo seno
è fitto il tuo mistero,
E il tuo peccato è originale come i tuoi calzoni americani,
Non fermare ti prego le mie mani
Sulle tue cosce tese, chiuse come le chiese
Quando ti vuoi confessare
Notte prima degli esami, notte di polizia,
Certo qualcuno te lo sei portato via,
Notte di mamme e di papà col biberon in mano,
Notte di nonne alla finestra, ma questa notte è ancora nostra,
Notte di giovani attori di pizze fredde e di calzoni,
Notte di sogni di coppe e di campioni,
Notte di lacrime e preghiere,
La matematica non sarà mai il mio mestiere,
E gli aerei volano alto tra New York e Mosca,
Ma questa notte è ancora nostra,
Claudia non tremare, non ti posso far male, se l'amore è amore
Si accendono le luci qui sul palco
Ma quanti amici intorno che viene voglia di cantare,
Forse cambiari, certo un pò diversi
Ma con la voglia ancora di cambiare,
Se l'amore è amore - se l'amore è amore - se l'amore è amore -
Se l'amore è amore - se l'amore è amore

English Text

I remember four boys with a guitar
and a piano on their shoulders,
like the pine trees of Rome, life does not break them,
This night is still ours,
How do secretaries with glasses come to marry lawyers?
The bombs of the six do no harm,
it's only the day that dies, it's only the day that dies
The exams are near and you are too far away from my room,
Your father looks like Dante and your brother like Ariosto
Tonight at the usual place, the moon seems strange
It will be that I don't see you for a week
Maturity1, if I only passed you before, My hands on your breast,
your mystery is thick,
And your sin is original like your American pants
Please, don't stop my hands
on your tense thighs, shut off like churches,
When you want to confess,
The night before the exams, night of the police,
Certainly someone got you carried away,
Night of the mothers and the fathers with baby bottles in their hands,
Night of the grandmothers at the windows, but this night is still ours
Night of the young actors of cold pizzas and of calzones
Night of dreams of trophies and of champions
Night of tears and prayers
Mathematics will never be my skill,
and the planes flying high over New York and Moscow
But this night is still ours
Claudia, don't tremble, I could never do you wrong, if love is love,
If they turn on the lights here on the platform
But how many friends are around who has the desire to sing?
Perhaps you have changed, for sure a little different
But still with the desire to change,
If love is love - if love is love - if love is love
If love is love - if love is love

Antonello Venditti

Antonello Venditti was born in Rome in 1949. He is an Italian singer-songwriter and pianist who became famous in the 1970s for the social themes of his songs.

He studied piano in his youth and made his debut in the music world in the early 1970s at the Folkstudio of Rome, together with singers like Francesco De Gregori and Giorgio Lo Cascio. In duo with the former he released in 1972 his first LP.