Cher in Translation

I didn’t post last week. There was just a lot of drama going on and work was utterly busy. Yeah, I said it. Utterly. My upcoming wedding, planning for which had gone off track for about 6 months,  got back on track last week just in time for the economy to collapse and the political process to implode with crazy candidate behavior and, quite frankly, what seems like scary lynch mobs forming. I’m addicted to election news.

Then I joined a Ulyssesreading group with my bf and some people at work which has been very challenging but rewarding (so far I like James Joyce's overall structure and much of his poetic language but the stream of consciousness, after pages and pages, fails to serve). I’ve been trying to keep up in pottery (did the annual trip to Ojai this weekend where we revisited Sylvia Raz and found a new favorite sculptor, Ted Gall). I’ve also been trying to organize the wedding planning schedule from a 6-month stockpile of notes, keep up with political emails and do the 9 to 5 (which has entailed a lot of web postings of foreign language translations on Internet policy). And then there have been the interpersonal disappointments, the alienation, the self-doubt,  the mild passive-aggressive persecution, the ennui. What can you do?

But I’ve wanted to publish this blog post for months, back when Cher scholar Peter sent me a slew of Sonny & Cher singles on CD in Italian and French. There was a lot to chew on and I kept waiting for my bf to have time to translate the three rare songs; but that time never materialized. He’s just not as dedicated to Cher scholarship as I am. What gives?

I did learn many interesting facts about Sonny & Cher singing in translation in the 60s. Can I just say how very kewl the whole thing is, Cher singing in Italian and French? I really love it. Almost as much as Cher with an Italian accent in Moonstruck. It can really make you think about a song in a different way. According to one website, in 1966 Cher herself competed in Italy with four covers of "Bang Bang" already on the charts by cover artists.  How crazy is that? And Ahmet Ertegun said the song was” one of the greatest post-WW2 songs ever written.” I mean it’s good but… calm down.

1.  When My Dollies Have Babies – Italian (version 1) 
Translation of “Mama (When My Dollies Have Babies)”

I love the opening guitar of this song. However, I’ve always felt the chorus of children was a bit shrill. The strings are moving, though. It’s interesting that ‘Mama’ is a word existing in so many latin-based languages, one that needs no translation. I asked my bf about Cher’s translation performance. He told me her Italian is passable, better than Sonny’s. I myself enjoy this version. For some reason in this Italian version of the song, we lose the final note “Mama.”

In 1967 Sonny & Cher took part in the San Remo festival. Apparently Harold Battiste conducted the orchestra for the songs “Il Cammino Di Ogni Speranza” and “Ma Piano (per non svegliarti).” Peter’s CD, which came already compiled by a fellow Cher scholar from Australia, also included Sonny singing  “L’umanita” but I’m not sure if this was a festival song or just a Sonny-Italian one-off. 

There was drama at the '67 festival. Quite a lot. A suicide and nasty allegations against Sonny & Cher. You’d think it was a 2008 US presidential election for all the mud slung. These sites talk about it briefly:

• http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~rickster8/3d.html#euro
  (on this site you can click the single sleeve covers for 30 second audio samples)
• http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festival_di_Sanremo_1967&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=4&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsan%2Bremo%2Bfestival%2B1967%26hl%3Den
  (this is a English translation of an Italian Wikipedia page about the festival that year)

And basically the politics that ensued almost prevented Cher from being allowed to perform “Ma Piano” at the festival and other entrants hated on Cher’s phonetic delivery. Allegedly artist Luigi Tenco killed himself to protest losing. Sonny & Cher did not make it into the festival finals with their entries. They survived it. Yesh.

2. Il Cammino Di Ogni Speranza (from The San Remo Festival, 1967) – Italian
English title: "The Way of All Hope"

I love the bam-bam-bams against the rising and falling ooohs. I like this song. I really do and feel Cher does the end lyric very well. I did manage to find lyrics to this song online:

Italian
Solo tu mi sapevi parlare
Con amore per farmi sperare
Mi dicevi “non piangere più”
Quando il solo se ne va
L’indomani tornerà
E la fede che non hai,
Tu ritroverai
Solo tu mi sapevi ridare
Il coraggio per farmi lottare
La speranza in un mondo futuro
Senza pianto né dolore
Per la gente come me
Che vorrebbe dalla vita
Solamente un pò d’amor

Ma il cammino di ogni speranza
Si ferma un momento e poi se ne va
La tua voce già vola nel vento
Non è che un ricordo che non tornerà
Mai più da me, da me
Ma il cammino di ogni speranza
Si ferma un momento e poi se ne va
La tua voce già vola nel vento
Non è che un ricordo che non tornerà
Mai più da me, da me.

(Grazie a lully per questo testo)

The English translation frpm Google Translate

The Way of All Hope:
Only you know I speak
With love for me to hope
I said "no more tears"
When only the leaves
The next day return
And the faith that you have not,
You will find
Only you give me you know
The courage to fight me
The hope in a future world
Without crying or pain
For people like me
What would life
Only a bit of love
But the journey of hope
He stops a moment and then goes away
Your voice already flying in the wind
Is but a memory that does not return
No more from me, from me
But the journey of hope
He stops a moment and then goes away
Your voice already flying in the wind
Is but a memory that does not return
No more from me, from me.

(Thanks to Lully in this text)

Okay, so either Lully or Google Translate is a little off here. Does anyone here know Italian?

3. L’umanita – Italian
English Title: "Humanity"

What is this from, I wonder? This is primarily a Sonny solo. Not one of my favorites, but I like the intro – very in your face. Sonny sounds echoed in the chorus. Cher’s part is lovely at the end but it’s painfully too little too late.

4. Caro Cara – Italian
English title: Beloved, beloved (my bf called it Dear, Dear). In the song, these words take the place of the words 'Baby' but it's a translation of "It’s The Little Things"

Some issues here. Sonny’s solo Italian is done with a bad accent. But for larger reasons, the song doesn’t work. The Italian loses something and feels clunky. At the end part, “call my name and I’ll start runnin,” the Italian is so rushed S&C seem like they’re out of time by the final 'baby' at the end. The English version of this song is so very sweet. I even love the silly sax. This version doesn’t capture the fun.

5. Fantasie – Italian
English translation of the title:  "Fantasie" (huh?)
Translation of: "Don’t Talk To Strangers"

This Italian title confuses me. How does it connect? Also, this is an odd choice of a song to translate. Suddenly, this makes me wonder: why weren’t the big hits translated? –  The Beat Goes On, I Got You Babe. In this Italian version, we get a duet earlier in the song but in this case, the Italian makes this song prettier. The English lyrics are almost blandly simplistic. But the Italian brings out the pretty melody.

6. Ma Piano (per non svegliarti) – (for The San Remo Festival, 1967) – Italian
English translation of the title: "But Wake Up Slowly"

This is my favorite of these translations. It’s evocative, I love the echoed clapping, the dipping ooohs. This is a good crisp vocal. How can a dyslexic person sing in another language?

Listen to the song:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulgmKWOEhxc&feature=related
• http://www.kk.ab.pl/index.php?mnu=muzyka&act=teledyski&art=Cher&aid=159&movie=ulgmKWOEhxc&title=Cher-Ma+piano(per+non+svegliarti)-cher+sings+an+italian+song

Uh…why is Cher in a barn with a fur coat on in that video?

7. Nel Mio Ceilo Ci Sei Tu – Italian
This English on Google Translate made no sense but this is a translation of "I Feel Something in the Air"

This plodding song always makes me daydream while I listen to it. I can’t really hang in there. It goes so slow. I did start to see a pattern in the English bridges though. This first bridge seems to me like little girl’s music, maybe representing the passage or bridge to teen years. The second bridge is definitely a girl-group teen sound, as if she’s growing up even more. And I see some elements of superstition by the song’s character. The first bridge Cher doesn’t translate into Italian for some reason – she just sings La Da De all the way through.

8. Sedtevi Attorno – Italian
Online I read that the title should be “Bambini Miei Cari” or "My Darling Children" and it’s a translation of "You’d Better Sit Down Kids"

Hear the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_kvEE7mg_A&feature=related

Whoever posted this video online slams Cher’s Italian. But I actually think this song was a good candidate for Italian translation and that Cher’s does it well. I like the quality of her vocal on this one, probably the best of all the foreign language recordings. It’s very resonant. We get the hip-wiggling alternate ending version of this single, instead of the one with the horns. I can’t decide which one I like better.

9. Mama – Italian (version 2) 
Translation of: "Mama (When My Dollies Have Babies)"

For some reason a second version of this single was included and I don’t know if it’s my imagination but it sounds more muted but does include the children singing 'Mama' for the final note, unlike the first version, which leaves you hanging if you’ve grown up to expect it.

10. Picollo Ragazza – Italian
This is actually a misspelling; it should be "Piccolo Ragazzo" and is a translation of "Little Man"

Listen to this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4ynlMFAATo

This is another sweet song with that squatting oboe. This Italian version is tinny and a bit shouty with some English words thrown in. The title and chorus do sound fun in Italian, though.

11. Petit Homme – French
Translation of "Little Man"

In French this song really doesn’t work so well. There are too many syllables in French that S&C trip over in a kind of verbal acrobatics. The chorus had to be altered due to this, syncopated differently or something. They sing the chorus very choppily. It’s unusual.

12. Je m’en Blance Car Je T’aime – French
Google translate: "I Blank Because I Love You." Makes no sense but is a translation of "But You’re Mine"

I’ve never liked this song in English to be honest. To me it’s a poor man’s “It’s The Little Things” the jist of which is 'You’re flawed but you’re mine.' It’s borderline offensive when it’s spelled out that way, unlike “Just You” and “Little Things” which manage to pull off some sweetness in there. It sounds like Cher sings 'Champs-Élysées' at one point in this version. Is this a nod to Paris?  Sonny sings his parts in English until the end. Cher does some English in this one as well. Sonny sings French like he has a cold.

13. Mais Tu Es a Moi – French (version 2)
English Translation: "But You Are Mine"

Why are there two of these? Were they on the same 45?  This song is done completely in French but Cher sounds tired and Sonny sounds hung-over! Really odd and lethargic.

More on S&C translations:
http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~rickster8/