Avanti

Son solo cento case tutto il paese
Una gran chiesa con il campanile
Un bar-tabacchi senza pretese
Tutto raccolto sembra un cortile.

Quattro strade strette strette
Che portano in piazza
Una donna due donne
Un vecchio un bambino
Con le brocche sulla testa
Una lunga processione
Scende al centro del paese
Per comprare solo acqua.

In questo maledetto paese
Son vent'anni che il Comune
Ha promesso un acquedotto
Ma promesso solamente
Il raccolto sta morendo
Qui da noi non piove mai
Siamo stanchi di aspettare
L'acqua non arriva mai
L'acqua non arriva mai
L'acqua non arriva mai.

C'è solo un carrettiere
Che ad ogni ora passa con l'acqua quella da bere
La vende a 10 lire al bicchiere
Chi non ha soldi non la può bere.

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In the whole village
There are only hundred houses
A big church with the bell tower
And a pub without pretension
There are only hundred houses in the village
It is so curled up that it seems a courtyard.

Four narrow alleys
That lead to the square
One woman two women one old man one child with jugs on their heads
A long procession
Goes down to the centre of the village
Just to buy water.

In this damned village
The Municipality has been promising
An aqueduct for twenty years
But it has only been promising
The harvest is dying
Here it never rains
We are tired to wait
The water never comes.

There's only one carter that at every hour
Passes by with the drinking water
He sells it for ten lire at glass
People without money can't drink.

The name of the carter is Tommaso
He's a good man
He works for Don Vincenzo
Who shares the power in the village
With Don Gaetano
Speculation on labour on building trade
On citrus fruits and fish export
And only because of prestige reasons
They contend to each other the business
Of water distribution
That is the very respectable balcony
Of Don Vincenzo – Bacio le mani.