Bella Ciao

Album: various (1890)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Bella Ciao" is Italian for "goodbye beautiful."

    The tune is an Italian folk song that goes back as far as the late 19th century, first appearing among the rice-paddy workers of Italy's Po Valley. Rice farming is hard labor, requiring workers to stand for hours on end in knee-deep water with their backs bent over. The work was also very low paying. As would be expected for this combination of labor qualities, there was a great deal of dissent - riots and uprisings were common.

    The song evolved throughout Italian history. By 1943, the lyrics had changed to reflect resistance against Mussolini's Fascist regime and their Nazi allies. Since that time, it has become a song of general dissent in Italy and around Europe.
  • The original version included the lyrics:

    In the morning I got up
    To the paddy rice fields, I have to go
    And Between insects and mosquitoes
    A hard work I have to work


    The later version went:

    One morning I awakened
    And I found the invader

    Oh partisan carry me away
    Because I feel death approaching
  • Giovanna Daffini recorded both versions of the song on her 1975 album Amore.
  • In 2018, Marc Ribot remade the song for Songs of Resistance 1942–2018. The album has Ribot collaborating with other notable musicians. On "Bella Ciao," Tom Waits provides vocals.

    This version was released with a video by Jem Cohen portraying the Trump administration as Fascist. The Songs of Resistance album was made with the pointed intent of fueling the "resistance" against the Trump administration. Ribot said, "I knew this from the moment Donald Trump was elected: I'm not going to play downtown scene Furtwangler to any orange-comb-over dictator wannabe. No way."
  • American singer-songwriter Becky G recorded "Bella Ciao" for the Netflix series Money Heist, also known as La Casa de Papel.

    The show's unofficial anthem, "Bella Ciao" first appeared in "Part 1" of the Money Heist when characters Professor and Berlin sung it. The Italian folk song played multiple times throughout the series and became a summer hit across Europe in 2018. According to the show, they included the tune because "the Professor's whole life revolved around one idea… resistance."

    Becky G's reimagining of the song coincided with the Netflix release of the final five-episode volume on December 3, 2021. The singer also filmed a video, directed by Megan Gamez, which pays homage to the series.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.

Phone Booth Songs

Phone Booth SongsSong Writing

Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The Remasters

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The RemastersSong Writing

Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.

Country Song Titles

Country Song TitlesFact or Fiction

Country songs with titles so bizarre they can't possibly be real... or can they?