"Bella ciao" () is an anti-Nazi and anti-fascist Italian folk song dedicated to the partisans of the Italian resistance, who fought against the occupying troops of Nazi Germany and the collaborationist fascist forces during the liberation of Italy.
The exact origins are not known, but it is theorized to be based on a folk song of the late 19th century, sung by female workers (mondine) of the paddy fields in Northern Italy in protest against harsh working conditions. There is little evidence of the song being used during World War II, with the current partisan version becoming widespread only after it ended. Versions of "Bella ciao" continue to be sung worldwide as a hymn of resistance against Nazism, fascism, injustice and oppression.
History The origins of the song are unclear, although one hypothesis is that "Bella ciao" was originally sung as "Alla mattina appena alzata" ("In the morning as soon as I woke up") by seasonal workers of paddy fields of rice, especially in Italy's Po Valley from the late 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, with different lyrics. They worked at mondare (weeding) the rice fields in Northern Italy, to help the healthy growth of young rice plants. This work was performed during the flooding of the fields, from the end of April to the beginning of June every year. During this time, the first stages of the rice plants' development, the delicate shoots needed to be protected from the difference in temperature between the day and the night. It consisted of two phases: transplanting the plants and pruning the weeds.
This exhausting task was carried out primarily by women known as mondine, recruited from the poorest social classes. They spent their workdays barefoot in water up to their knees, their backs bent continuously. Poor working conditions, excessive hours and low pay led to constant dissatisfaction and, occasionally, rebellious movements and riots in the early 20th century. Struggles against the supervising padroni (an employer who completely controls his or her workers, especially one who exploits Italian immigrants) were even harder, with plenty of clandestine workers ready to compromise even further the already low wages just to get work. Besides "Bella ciao", similar songs of the mondina included "" and "".
Other versions of the antecedents of "Bella ciao" appeared over the years, indicating that "Alla mattina appena alzata" must have been composed in the latter half of the 19th century. The earliest written version is dated to 1906 and comes from near Vercelli, Piedmont.D. Massa, R. Palazzi and S. Vittone: Riseri d'al me coeur
As a partisan song There are no indications of the relevance of "Bella ciao" among the partisan brigades, nor of the very existence of the 'partisan version' prior to the first publication of the text in 1953. There are no traces in the documents of the immediate postwar period nor is it present in important songbooks. It is not found, for example, in Pasolini's 1955 nor in the Canti Politici of Editori Riuniti of 1962. The 1963 version of Yves Montand shot to fame after the group Il Nuovo Canzoniere Italiano presented it at the 1964 Festival dei Due Mondi at Spoleto both as a song of the mondine and as a partisan hymn, and the latter so "inclusive" that it could hold together the various political souls of the national liberation struggle (Catholics, Communists, Socialists, Liberals...) and even be sung at the end of the Christian Democracy (Democrazia Cristiana) 1975 congress which elected the former partisan Zaccagnini as national secretary.
As reported in the text by Roberto Battaglia History of the Italian Resistance popular songs of the era were Fischia il vento and the famous Soviet folk aria Katyusha, which became the official anthem of the Garibaldi Partisan Brigades.Even the well-known journalist, former partisan and historian of the partisan struggle, Giorgio Bocca publicly stated:
These statements were later verified by Carlo Pestelli in his book Bella ciao. The song of freedom, in which he reconstructs the origins and spread of the song.
Historians of Italian music, including Antonio Virgilio Savona and Michele Straniero, agree "Bella ciao" was not sung or only rarely sung during the partisan war and became popular only after WW2 ended.
Only a few voices, such as that of the historians Cesare Bermani and Ruggero Giacomini, claim that some version of "Bella ciao" was sung by some brigades during the Resistance, although not necessarily in the now popular 'partisan version', of whose existence, as specified above, there is no documentary evidence until the 1950s.
The text as sung today was first published in 1953 in the magazine La Lapa, and then in L'Unità in 1957.
Melody
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.
Italian folksinger Giovanna Daffini recorded the song in 1962.Recording made by musicologists Gianni Bosio and Roberto Leydi in 1962. Giovanna Daffini: "Alla mattina appena alzata", from the CD: Giovanna Daffini: L'amata genitrice (1991) The music is in quadruple meter.
Lyrics Mondine version Italian lyrics English translation Alla mattina appena alzata o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao, ciao, ciao alla mattina appena alzata in risaia mi tocca andar.
E fra gli insetti e le zanzare o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao e fra gli insetti e le zanzare un dur lavoro mi tocca far.
Il capo in piedi col suo bastone o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao il capo in piedi col suo bastone e noi curve a lavorar.
O mamma mia o che tormento o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao o mamma mia o che tormento io t'invoco ogni doman.
Ed ogni ora che qui passiamo o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao ed ogni ora che qui passiamo noi perdiam la gioventù.
Ma verrà un giorno che tutte quante o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao ma verrà un giorno che tutte quante lavoreremo in libertà. In the morning I got up oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao (Goodbye beautiful) In the morning I got up To the paddy fields I have to go.
And between insects and mosquitoes oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao and between insects and mosquitoes a hard work I have to do.
The boss is standing with his cane oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao the boss is standing with his cane and we work with our backs curved.
Oh my God, what a torment oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao oh my God, what a torment as I call you every morning.
And every hour that we pass here oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao and every hour that we pass here we lose our youth.
But the day will come when we all oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao but the day will come when we all will work in freedom.
Partisan version
Italian lyrics English translation Una mattina mi son svegliato, O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao! Una mattina mi son svegliato E ho trovato l'invasor.
O partigiano portami via, o bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao o partigiano portami via che mi sento di morir.
E se io muoio da partigiano, o bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao, e se io muoio da partigiano tu mi devi seppellir.
E seppellire lassù in montagna, o bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao, e seppellire lassù in montagna sotto l'ombra di un bel fior.
E le genti che passeranno O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao! E le genti che passeranno Ti diranno o che bel fior.
È questo il fiore del partigiano O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao! È questo il fiore del partigiano Morto per la libertà. One morning I awakened, oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao! (Goodbye beautiful) One morning I awakened And I found the invader.
Oh partisan carry me away, oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao oh partisan carry me away Because I feel death approaching.
And if I die as a partisan, oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao and if I die as a partisan then you must bury me.
Bury me up in the mountain, oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao bury me up in the mountain under the shade of a beautiful flower.
And all those who shall pass, oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao and all those who shall pass will tell you "what a beautiful flower."
This is the flower of the partisan, oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao this is the flower of the partisan who died for freedom
Covers
One of the most famous recordings is that of the Italian folk singer Giovanna Daffini who recorded both the mondina and the partisan versions. It appears in her 1975 album Amore mio non piangere. Many artists have recorded the song, including Herbert Pagani, Mary Hopkin, Sandie Shaw, Goran Bregovic and Manu Chao. 1964: Yves Montand as a single 1965: Milva as a single 1969: Quilapayún in the album Basta, later connected to criticism of the regime of Augusto Pinochet 1975: Giovanna Daffini in her album Amore mio non piangere 1987: Leslie Fish and the Dehorn Crew in the album It's Sister Jenny's Turn to Throw the Bomb 1993: KUD Idijoti on the album Tako je govorio Zaratusta 1993: Modena City Ramblers on the album Combat Folk 1993: Banda Bassotti on the mini-album Bella Ciao 2001: Anita Lane on the album Sex O'Clock 2004: Serbian punk rock band Goblini in their 2004 live album Najbolje priče 2010: Talco on the album Combat Circus 2012: Goran Bregovic on the album Champagne For Gypsies 2018: Marc Ribot and Tom Waits on the album Songs of Resistance 1942–2018 by Marc Ribot 2018: Steve Aoki and Marnik published another EDM version 2018: Klischée released an Electro Swing version as a single. 2019: Amparo Sánchez and Juan Pinilla released a Flamenca interpretation for the congress of the European Left 2021: Hopsin released a hip hop version sampling Bella Ciao on his "Be11a Ciao" album 2021: Helmut Lotti released "Italian Songbook" with Bella Ciao as track number 5 2021: Becky G as a single 2022: Two-time Grammy winner Ulises Bella, from the band Ozomatli, arranged a version for Italian-American singer Isabella Han-Bolelli. 2022: As a part of the Hearts of Iron IV DLC By Blood Alone, Paradox Games released a choir version of "Bella Ciao" arranged by Håkan Glänte and performed by Göteborg Baroque. 2022: American Musician Seth Staton Watkins Released a culturally translated cover loosely based on a translation by Paddy Shannon on his YouTube Channel 2024: A guitar cover of the song, featuring English lyrics she translated using Google Translate, was posted by Mitski on her YouTube channel.
International versions In addition to the original Italian, the song has been recorded by various artists in many different languages, including Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Belarusian, Bosnian, Breton, Bengali, Bulgarian, Burmese, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, English, Esperanto, Finnish, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Hebrew, Japanese, Kashmiri, Kurdish, Persian, Macedonian, Malayalam, Marathi, Norwegian, Occitan, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian, Sinhalese, Slovak, Spanish, Syriac, Swedish, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Ukrainian and Yiddish. Azerbaijani Soviet singer Muslim Magomayev performed the song at some of his concerts and he stated that it was Brezhnev's favorite by him.Magomayev interview at "Russian Week", 2005. The Chinese version of the song featured in the Chinese translation of the Yugoslavian film The Bridge. A rewritten version of the song can be heard on Chumbawamba's acoustic album A Singsong and a Scrap.