Bella Ciao

These days, Bella Ciao is widely known as a generic protest song, but did you know that it has its origins in the risaie (rice fields) of northern Italy?

That’s right – it was first sung by the mondine (rice weeders) whose job was to weed the paddies to promote the growth of the young rice shoots. Carried out by women of a low social class, the work was gruelling due to the long days spent bent over under the scorching sun, knee-deep in water. To make matters worse, the pay was poor and the supervising padroni (bosses) often punished the workers if they spoke amongst themselves during working hours.

It is therefore no surprise that many protest songs were born out of these excruciating work conditions. Bella Ciao, perhaps the most famous of them all, is thought to have been written in the early 19th century, though the earliest written version was recorded in Vercelli, Piedmont in 1906. The original mondine lyrics describe the horrific conditions, from insetti e le zanzare (insects and mosquitoes) and the boss’ bastone (stick), to the curved backs of the workers.

In the 1940s, the song was adopted and revised by the anti-fascist resistance. The new lyrics tell the story of a young partisan who leaves his beloved to join the partisan militia, says goodbye for probably the last time. Both versions were recorded for the first time in 1964 by Italian folk singer Giovanna Daffini.

Since then, Bella Ciao has been recorded and translated numerous times, performed by dozens of famous musicians, and used at protests all over the world. Most recently, it was revived by the Spanish Netflix series Money Heist (2017-2018), in which the song is regularly played in symbolic moments as a metaphor for freedom.

If you are interested in learning the lyrics, we’ve shared both the mondine and partigiano versions below along with their respective English translations. Happy protesting!

Sources: Financial Times, The Local Italy, Wikipedia

Alla mattina appena alzatao bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao, ciao, ciaoalla mattina appena alzatain risaia mi tocca andar.

E fra gli insetti e le zanzareo bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciaoe fra gli insetti e le zanzareun dur lavoro mi tocca far.

Il capo in piedi col suo bastoneo bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciaoil capo in piedi col suo bastonee noi curve a lavorar.

O mamma mia o che tormentoo bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciaoo mamma mia o che tormentoio t’invoco ogni doman.

Ed ogni ora che qui passiamoo bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciaoed ogni ora che qui passiamonoi perdiam la gioventù.

Ma verrà un giorno che tutte quanteo bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciaoma verrà un giorno che tutte quantelavoreremo in libertà.

Una mattina mi son svegliato,o bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao!Una mattina mi son svegliatoe ho trovato l’invasor.

O partigiano portami via,o bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciaoo partigiano portami viache mi sento di morir.

E se io muoio da partigiano,o bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao,e se io muoio da partigianotu mi devi seppellir.

Seppellire lassù in montagna,o bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao,seppellire lassù in montagnasotto l’ombra di un bel fior.

E le genti che passeranno,o bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao,e le genti che passerannomi diranno “che bel fior”.

Questo è il fiore del partigiano,o bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao,questo è il fiore del partigianomorto per la libertà

In the morning as soon as I get upoh goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, bye, bye, byeIn the morning as soon as I get upI have to go to the paddy fields.

And between insects and mosquitoesoh goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, bye, bye, byeand between insects and mosquitoesI have to work hard.

The boss is standing with his caneoh goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, bye, bye, byethe boss is standing with his caneand we work with our backs curved.

Oh my goodness, what tormentoh goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, bye, bye, byeoh my goodness, what tormentEvery day I beseech you.

And every hour that we pass hereoh goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, bye, bye, byeand every hour that we pass herewe lose our youth.

But the day will come when all of usoh goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, bye, bye, byebut the day will come when all of uswill work in freedom.

One morning I woke up,oh goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, bye, bye, byeOne morning I woke upAnd I found the invader.

Oh partisan, take me away,oh goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, bye, bye, byeoh partisan, take me awayBecause I feel as if I’m going to die.

And if I die a partisan,oh goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, bye, bye, byeand if I die a partisanthen you must bury me.

Bury me up in the mountain,oh goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, bye, bye, byebury me up in the mountainunder the shade of a beautiful flower.

And the people who pass by,oh goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, bye, bye, byeand the people who pass by,will tell me “what a beautiful flower.”

This is the flower of the partisan,oh goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, goodbye beautiful, bye, bye, byethis is the flower of the partisanwho died for freedom.

Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.