Did you know that the popular Italian melody, Bella Ciao, is a resistance anthem?
I didn’t. I only knew the melody from TV and movies, and the occasional family sing-along.
From Wikipedia:
"Bella ciao" (Italian pronunciation: [ˈbɛlla ˈtʃaːo]; "Goodbye beautiful") is an Italian song dedicated to the partisans of the Italian resistance, which fought against the occupying troops of Nazi Germany and the collaborationist Fascist forces during the liberation of Italy. It was based on a folk song of the late 19th century, sung by female workers of the paddy fields in Northern Italy (mondine) in protest against harsh working conditions. Versions of "Bella ciao" continue to be sung worldwide as a hymn of resistance.
I learned this from a post by one of my favorite artists, Mitski. She’s currently calling for a roundup of translations of this song:
And GET THIS, the origins of the melody could be Jewish!
A possible origin of the melody was identified by researcher Fausto Giovannardi, following the discovery of a Yiddish melody (Koilen song) recorded by a Russian Klezmer accordionist, Mishka Ziganoff, in 1919 in New York. According to the scholar Rod Hamilton of The British Library in London, "Koilen" is a version of "Dus Zekele Koilen" (The bag of coal), of which there are various versions dating back to the 1920s. (Source) (Source)
As a second-gen American with 50% Ashkenazi, 25% Maltese, and 25% Italian heritage, this means so much. How did a Yiddish melody, possibly sung by my mother’s ancestors, make its way to the rice paddy fields where my father’s ancestors were possibly working?
With that personal connection and the current timeliness of Mitski’s sharing, I had to write to you all about this. So cool!
Extra-curricular listening:
Recession pop is SO BACK!