Above you'll see two youtube videos, the top one being Mina's "Se Telefonando" and the exquisite Francoise Hardy doing a French cover of the same song with French lyrics.
My old friend Robert Hunt posted the Francoise Hardy song on facebook, which prompted me to post the lyrics and a my rough translation. So here's the Italian lyrics; the french lyrics can be found on the youtube page hosting the french video if you click on it.
Se Telefonando
Lo stupore della notte
spalancata
sul mar
(I don't know what the stupor of the night may be, but I like it) The stupor of the night is scattered across the sea.
ci sorprese che eravamo
sconosciuti
io e te.
We were surprised, you and I, that we didn't know each other.
Poi nel buio le tue mani
d'improvviso
sulle mie…cresciuto troppo in fretta
questo nostro amor…
Then in the dark your hands suddenly on mine… Grown too quickly, this our love…
Se telefonando
io potessi dirti addio
ti chiamerei…
(Those who know Italian might note that the chorus of this song is entirely in the subjunctive, a tricky tense in any Romance language, and one more suggestive of poetry and highfalutin sentiments than everyday speech) If I, when telephoning, could say goodbye, I would call you...
Se io rivedendoti
fossi certa che non soffri
ti rivedrei…
If I were to see you again, if I could be certain that you wouldn't suffer, I would see you again...
Se guardandoti negli occhi
sapessi dirti basta
ti guarderei…
If, as I was gazing into your eyes, I were to know how to say Enough! I would look at you...
Ma non so spiegarti
che il nostro amore appena nato
Ë giá finito…
But I don't know how to explain to you that this, our love, is already finished..
Then she repeats it from the top. I just love the relative strength of her voice compared to Hardy, but I love looking at Hardy and I do love her voice.
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