Bella Ciao ... the song of solidarity

According to Genius, the Italian lyrics go:

Una mattina mi son alzato
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
Una mattina mi son alzato
E ho trovato l'invasor

O partigiano, portami via
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
O partigiano, portami via
Ché 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
Mi diranno «che bel fior.»

Questo è il fiore del partigiano
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
Questo è il fiore del partigiano
Morto per la libertà

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n English, here's how that translates, according to Genius: 

One morning I awakened
Oh Goodbye beautiful, Goodbye beautiful, Goodbye beautiful! Bye! Bye!
One morning I awakened
And I found the invader

Oh partisan carry me away
Oh Goodbye beautiful, Goodbye beautiful, Goodbye beautiful! Bye! Bye!
Oh partisan carry me away
Because I feel death approaching

And if I die as a partisan
(And if I die on the mountain)
Oh Goodbye beautiful, Goodbye beautiful, Goodbye beautiful! Bye! Bye!
And if I die as a partisan
(And if I die on the mountain)
Then you must bury me

Bury me up in the mountain
(And you have to bury me)
Oh Goodbye beautiful, Goodbye beautiful, Goodbye beautiful! Bye! Bye!
Bury me up in the mountain
(And you have to bury me)
Under the shade of a beautiful flower

And the people who shall pass
(And all those who shall pass)
Oh Goodbye beautiful, Goodbye beautiful, Goodbye beautiful! Bye! Bye!
And the people who shall pass
(And all those who shall pass)
Will tell me: "what a beautiful flower"
(And they will say: "what a beautiful flower")

This is the flower of the partisan

(And this is the flower of the partisan)
Oh Goodbye beautiful, Goodbye beautiful, Goodbye beautiful! 
Bye! Bye!
This is the flower of the partisan

(And this is the flower of the partisan)
Who died for freedom

Fans of Netflix's action-packed series La Casa de Papel/Money Heist know that besides the theme song "My Life is Going On" by Cecilia Krull, another tune that's heard frequently in the series is the Italian folk song "Bella Ciao."

Viewers are first introduced to the song by The Professor and Berlin, his older brother. During one of Tokio's narrations, she gives viewers some insight into the meaning—and how the thieves were first introduced to it.

"The life of The Professor revolved around one idea: Resistance. His grandfather, who had fought against the fascists in Italy, taught him the song—and he taught it to us," Ursula Corberó's character says on the show.

If viewers pay close attention, they'll notice the song is played during big plot moments on the show. In season 2, we hear it when the thieves find a way out of the Mint—and again when the police figure out how they got into the Mint in the first place. But at that point, the thieves were already long gone and traveling to their secret locations.

According to Arts and Terror by Vladimir L. Marchenkov, "Bella Ciao"—or "Goodbye Beautiful"—is an Italian folk song that was used as an anthem for the anti-fascist resistance and used worldwide as a hymn of freedom. And in Jerry Silverman's book Songs That Made History Around the World, Silverman reports that it was first sung by women working in the fields of Northern Italy just trying to pass the time. During World War II, the lyrics changed to reflect "the partisans fighting the fascists." It's the latter version that is used on La Casa de Papel/Money Heist.

And now, as the world quarantines throughout a global coronavirus pandemic, "Bella Ciao" has become a song of solidarity. With its Italian roots, many are singing the song in support of the Italian people, who are currently on lockdown as they try to stop further spread of the virus in their country. 

A few other symbols in the series are the red coveralls the thieves wear throughout. The color red was used to symbolize new liberties and freedoms during several revolutions around the world, according to Google Arts & Culture Center. 

The Salvador Dali mask is another prop that has a deeper meaning, too. The famed Spanish artist created a lot of his work during Zurich's Dada movement, which—according to the Tate—was about rejecting the modern capitalist society. With the theme of resistance so prominent in the series, it makes sense "Bella Ciao" would have an intentional message, too.

Closing video...Pazuzu beach club... CORFU

The sound of silence .... People talking without speaking

What do the lyrics of "The Sound of Silence" by Paul Simon mean?

Most of Paul Simon's song are intensely personal, yet he manages to write lyrics in such a way that they don't come across mawkish or self-pitying. For instance, The Boxer was written at a time when Simon was feeling particularly beaten up by the music business.

In The Sound of Silence he was expressing his angst toward his, and other's, feelings of alienation in a post-modern world. Part of this alienation is viewed as a result of our inability to communicate effectively with one another, combined with our ready acceptance of thought and opinion as provided by the mass media. He also alludes that this is a result of our desire for, edging on addiction of, comfort as a result of our own affluence.

He uses an almost biblical suggestion in the passage,

And in the naked light I saw ten thousand people maybe more.

This is a suggestion he will use again, to great effect. He goes on the reveal what he believes is our inability, or unwillingness to communicate with one another, saying,

People talking without speaking. People hearing without listening. People writing songs that voices never shared.

He also observes the populous, in general, is unwilling to take a stand against this norm. A sort of "don't rock the boat" mentality, saying,

No one dared disturb the sound of silence.

He writes from the point of view of an observer who sees what is going on, and yet is equally unable to express his views in such a way that is of any effect.

"Fools!", said I. "Do you not know silence like a cancer grows. Hear my words so I might teach you. Take my arms so might reach you." but my words like silent raindrops fell.

He then affixes the blame for the way thing are. What I find to be the most striking part of the song is the fact that rather than pointing at an outside force, he places the blame the this dilemma squarely on our shoulders.

And the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they made. 

Again, using a biblical suggestions to convey feeling of dread.

The narrator then warns us that this situation, left unaltered, will lead to our destruction.

And the sign flashed it's warning in the words that it was forming. There are shades of Dickens' A Christmas Carol here, in which the ghost of Christmas future reveals to Scrooge the eventual path of his actions.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, he alludes that this situation may have resulted from our own affluence, saying,

And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway wall and tenement halls."

Keep in mind, this was written at a time when there was a great disillusionment in our society, and dissatisfaction with the status quo.

Those who were clinging onto the values of the 1950s were out of step, yet still a formidable force in government.

We were involved in an ever escalating war, with no clear objectives, allied to a government that was as evil as the ones or father's had fought against.

President Kennedy was recently assassinated, leaving many of the new generation to whom the torch had been passed feeling disenfranchised.

It wouldn't be long before an entire generation was ready to reject their parent's middle class values.

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comment 1.

This is a great song that I love, and it is very intelligent and poetic. The song uses the imagery of light and darkness to show how people's ignorance and apathy destroys their ability to communicate even on simple levels.  
Its theme is man's inability to communicate with man. The author sees the extent of communication as it is on only its most superficial and "commercial" level (of which the "neon sign" is representative). There is no serious understanding because there is no serious communication - "people talking without speaking - hearing without listening". 
No one dares take the risk of reaching out ("take my arms that I might reach you")
to disturb the sound of silence. The poet's (character in the song) attempts are equally futile (" . . . but my words like silent raindrops fell within the wells of silence"). 
The ending is an enigma. The words tell us that when meaningful communication fails, the only sound is silence. 

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comment 2

I feel it is an allusion to Plato's "Allegory of the Cave." While the ideas of commercialism 
(the people bow and pray to a neon god they made, the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls, etc) 
run throughout the poem, it also has to do with a frustration the narrator feels with humans in general. They are content to "hear without listening," not willing or interested in focusing on anyone or anything too intently. They are not willing to go beyond the superficial, but merely to accept the world around them, as no one "dares disturb the sounds of silence."

The allusion comes into play in the beginning, as the narrator has a revelation, a vision, that awakes him from this superficial, merely shadowed world. He rises, walks alone as the man in Plato's story did, and he sees the light. He tries to tempt others out of the cave of ignorance and look beyond teh surface of things, but his "words like silent raindrops" fall. His attempts are futile.

That's what I got out of the song, my two cents ^_^ An amazing song no matter how you interpret it!

Leonard Cohen ... Democracy

Leonard Cohen arrived on Hydra island as a young unknown poet in 1960. When he first saw Marianne Ihlen he thought she was the 'most beautiful woman he had ever seen'. It was love and lust at first sight.

the whole story in the link below...http://mail.uhfcom.com/hydra-story.htm?fbclid=IwAR1wDVlFxa_XhLirCqCHjKR2iz3VCfwCkB3Jm-cwHMCXVHcPtt1bmRCqaZE

“Democracy is coming to the USA” is the real Leonard Cohen lyric we should be listening to.....

O Leonard Cohen είναι Καναδός ... αλλά απαγορεύετο να εισέλθει στην Αμερική USA ...
κάποτε του έδωσαν την άδεια να κάνει μια συναυλία στην Νέα Υόρκη-New York ...
Η ημέρα και ο χώρος κανονίσθηκαν ...τα εισητήρια εξαντλήθηκαν sold out ... ο Leonard παίρνει το αεροπλάνο από τον Καναδά να πάει στην Νέα Υόρκη ... Όμως η CIA  άλλαξε γνώμη καθ' οδόν, δεν επέτρεψε το αεροπλάνο να εισέλθει στον εναέριο χώρο της Αμερικής...το αεροπλάνο επέστρεψε στον Καναδά...it's coming through a hole in the air ...αυτός είναι και ο λόγος που αμέσως μετά εμπνεύσθηκε και έγραψε το τραγουδάκι ....

" Democracy is coming to USA " ,,,

It's coming through a hole in the air, 
from those nights in Tiananmen Square. 
It's coming from the feel 
that this ain't exactly real, 
or it's real, but it ain't exactly there. 
From the wars against disorder, 
from the sirens night and day, 
from the fires of the homeless, 
from the ashes of the gay: 
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A. 
It's coming through a crack in the wall; 
on a visionary flood of alcohol; 
from the staggering account 
of the Sermon on the Mount 
which I don't pretend to understand at all. 
It's coming from the silence 
on the dock of the bay, 
from the brave, the bold, the battered 
heart of Chevrolet: 
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A. 

It's coming from the sorrow in the street, 
the holy places where the races meet; 
from the homicidal bitchin' 
that goes down in every kitchen 
to determine who will serve and who will eat. 
From the wells of disappointment 
where the women kneel to pray 
for the grace of God in the desert here 
and the desert far away: 
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A. 

Sail on, sail on 
O mighty Ship of State! 
To the Shores of Need 
Past the Reefs of Greed 
Through the Squalls of Hate 
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on. 

It's coming to America first, 
the cradle of the best and of the worst. 
It's here they got the range 
and the machinery for change 
and it's here they got the spiritual thirst. 
It's here the family's broken 
and it's here the lonely say 
that the heart has got to open 
in a fundamental way: 
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A. 

It's coming from the women and the men. 
O baby, we'll be making love again. 
We'll be going down so deep 
the river's going to weep, 
and the mountain's going to shout Amen! 
It's coming like the tidal flood 
beneath the lunar sway, 
imperial, mysterious, 
in amorous array: 
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Ordinary words have failed Americans a lot over the last few months. It seems that too often, rational thought and logic have been rejected in favor of fake news arguments and internet troll hysteria.

In the midst of this chaos, however, other forms of language are becoming increasingly resonant. As Canadian columnist Elizabeth Renzetti recently said, “Perhaps poetry can shed light where polling data failed.” Poets are our prophets now, and songs our strength.

One such prophet was Leonard Cohen. This gruffly spoken man slyly and wisely brought his poetry a lot of publicity last week by dying right when we needed to hear him most. His fans have responded by playing “Hallelujah” on repeat and echoing the ironic comfort of his famous line from “Anthem,” There is a crack, a crack in everything / That’s how the light gets in.


But the song we should really be turning to is one from the 1990s: ”Democracy.”


My InterpretationTo me, this song is all about balance and good description of the USA and its people. It's all about hope about American (and in general) democracy and it's about hopelessness and strange things about the world in the USA. But ultimately, hope wins. Leonard wrote it in 1992, right in the middle of the Gulf War, waiting for the mid-term election in 1992 and the presidential election in 1994 - to bring about change in politics via democracy.

Here's my (subjective :)) analysis, line-by-line. This song has two meanings throughout: 1) images and happenings at home in the US and in 2) Gulf War in Iraq. 

Hear the marching drums - they herald how democracy will do away with the senseless war in Iraq (first Gulf War). 

"It's coming through a hole in the air" 
<--- on the waves of radio or TV, or a major bomb explosion 

"From those nights in Tiananmen Square" 
<--- images of the crushed 1989 uprising, appreciates US democracy, US protecting democracy in Iraq

"It's coming from the feel That this ain't exactly real, Or it's real, but it ain't exactly there." 
<--- Reference to US marketing and optimism. Many things started then half finished or just existing as an idea. Or the alleged WMD in Iraq there were never there.

"From the wars against disorder, From the sirens night and day," 
<--- Big city image of constant fight against any disorder 

"From the ashes of the gay" 
<--- refers to the AIDS epidemic and/or homophobia 

"Democracy is coming to the U.S.A."

"It's coming through a crack in the wall" 
<--- reference of how invisibly it gets into our lives 

"On a visionary flood of alcohol" 
<--- people discussing, prognosticating about politics in a pub being a bit drunk 

"From the staggering account Of the Sermon on the Mount, Which I don't pretend to understand at all."
<--- Reference to Christian cults or the Book of Mormon which are not easily comprehensible to Leonard.

"It's coming from the silence On the dock of the bay" 
<--- Reference to the Ottis Redding song "Sitting on the dock bay", how nothing has changed at all 

"From the brave, the bold, the battered Heart of Chevrolet". 
<---America's fixation on cars, especially American made classic cars 

"Democracy is coming to the USA" 

"It's coming from the sorrow in the street," 
<--- reference to riots, or compassion towards homeless

"The holy places where the races meet" 
<--- America's churches (also gospel) playing the role of the family that's often far away 

"From the homicidal bitchin' That goes down in every kitchen To determine who will serve and who will eat."
 <--- The equality of women, who no longer just cook in the kitchen. Also, broader meaning of society: who will be rich and who will be poor. 

"From the wells of disappointment, where women kneel to pray" 
<--- supermarkets, stores where women shop to forget their agony of waiting for their husbands to return from the first Gulf War OR images of Arab women praying at a water or oil well 

"From the grace of God in the desert here" 
<--- Biblical reference to the desert, also hoping for success of military exercises in desert test ranges in Nevada, etc. 

"And the desert far away" 
<-- in the Iraqi desert in the first Gulf War, this song is in 1994 after the older Bush's presidency 

"Sail on, sail on O mighty Ship of State!" 
<--- reference to the USA (metaphor) and maybe also an aircraft carrier 

"To the Shores of Need Past the Reefs of Greed To the Squalls of Hate" 
<--- hopes for unity, compassion for the poor, the ethnic minorities and the people of Iraq 

"It's coming to America first"
 <--- the spirit of American innovation 

"The cradle of the best and of the worst" 
<-- America is the country of extremes

"It's here they got the range And the machinery for change"
 <--- Refers to the size of the US economy, economies of scale and the machinery of innovation, the nature of people who support change 

"And it's here they got the spiritual thirst" 
<-- mockery of American cults, hunger for self-improvement books to the point of stupidity 

"It's here the family's broken and it's here the lonely say That the heart has got to open In a fundamental way."
<--- references to places of worship and religion in the US that attempts to substitute family (everyone moves away from home and lives far away), naivete of beliefs how religion and self improvement, opening yourself up, etc. will change your relationship to the world when it won't 

"Democracy is coming to the USA." 

"It's coming from the women and men. O baby, we'll be making love again. We'll be going down so deep The river's going to weep And the mountain's going to shout Amen!". 
<--- Reference to the overblown interest to sex in the US. Also to the oversexualized media and the importance of raw and loud sex, loud orgasms in porn vs. emotions.with intimacy.

"It's coming like the tidal flood Beneath the lunar sway Imperial, mysterious, In amorous array" 
<-- Democracy is coming slowly, unnoticed, unstoppable like the tide rising but in a majestic way. 

"Sail on, sail on" 
<--- Ship of the US sailing on the sea of democracy, keep going with democracy 

"I'm sentimental if you know what I mean" 
<-- He loves this ambivalent world to a degree 

"I love the country but I can't stand the scene" 
<-- he hates politics and the then current state of affairs of 1992 

"And I'm neither left or right"
 <--- no political stance just fed up with the war 

"I'm just staying home tonight, Getting lost in that hopeless little screen".
<-- watching CNN on TV, just following what's going on 

"But Im' stubborn as those garbage bags That Time cannot decay" 
<--- environmental catastrophe, but still optimistic and stubbornly vouching for democracy 

"I'm junk but I'm still holding up This little wild bouquet" 
<-- power of nature, optimism, belief in the future 

"Democracy is coming to the USA." 
<-- Democracy's cycle will change and do away with all the bad things (Gulf War, racial hatred) in the USA soon.

BEATLES - Come Together right now over me...

Here come old flat top
He come groovin' up slowly
He got joo joo eyeballs
He one holy roller
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker
He just do what he please

He wear no shoeshine
He got toe jam football
He got monkey finger
He shoot Coca-Cola
He say I know you, you know me
One thing I can tell you is
You got to be free
Come together, right now
Over me

He bad production
He got walrus gumboot
He got Ono sideboard
He one spinal cracker
He got feet down below his knee
Hold you in his armchair
You can feel his disease
Come together, right now
Over me

He roller coaster
He got early warning

He got muddy water
He one Mojo filter
He say one and one and one is three
Got to be good looking
'Cause he's so hard to see
Come together right now
Over me

First interpretation....

The song is about the Beatles feeling towards eachother. during a weak time, George brought up the Yogi and the phrase "Come Together right now over me" is an excerpt from the script telling them to use this song to build their bonds again and unite as one.

Each verse is dedicated to a Beatle:

Verse 1: "Here come old flattop, he come grooving up slowly
He got joo-joo eyeball, he one holy roller
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker he just do what he please"

This verse is obviously Ringo. Ringo's old school drum beats ("Flat top" refering to the old hair cut in the mid 1900's) were off at first with the rest of the band, but in time he got better and better ("Groovin' up slowly"). "he got hair down to his knee," is a joke about his shaggy look when he first joined the group and since he's sitting down playing the drums his hair wouldnt quite reach his knees but you get the riff. "Got to be a joker he just do what he please," Refers to him being the goof of the quad-squad.

Verse 2: "He wear no shoeshine, he got toe-jam football
He got monkey finger, he shoot Coca-Cola
He say, "I know you, you know me"
One thing I can tell you is you got to be free
Come together right now over me"

Did someone say George? "He wear no shoeshine," well lets face it, George wasnt fancy and liked the bare foot thing. "He got toe-jam foot ball," Soccor was a sport usually practiced outside the temples where the Yogi was practiced. "He got monkey finger," George was extreeeeeemly dextrous and learned many stringed instruments with ease. "He say,' i know you, you know me'etc..." another refrence to the Yogi.

Verse 3: "He bag production, he got walrus gumboot
He got Ono sideboard, he one spinal cracker
He got feet down below his knee
Hold you in his armchair, you can feel his disease
Come together right now over me"

This is the most obvious one... give up? really??! It's John! Duh! "he bad production," refers to john constantly would stopthe recordings and piss off all the rest of the band. "He got walrus gumboot," John wrote 'I am the walrus" and kept making songs like that and refused to change his style, thus upsetting the rest of the band. "He got Ono sideboard," a side board is a court term refering to pulling to the side or distracting. Yoko Ono would pull John away from the band and Is believed to be the downfall of the band. "he one spinal cracker," a term related to "braking my back," John would constantly argue with the band mates adn "brake thier backs." "He got feet down below his knee," John refused to be openminded or "get on his knees" He wass stubborn and stood up, refusing to kneel to anyone.
"Hold you in his arm chair you can feel his disease," Anyone who really knew John, or even got close to him, you knew something was wrong physically with him, depression, anger, etc. etc..

Verse 4:"He roller-coaster, he got early warning
He got muddy water, he one mojo filter
He say, "One and one and one is three"
Got to be good-looking because he's so hard to see
Come together right now over me "

Last but not least, Paul! "He roller-coaster," Paul was very emotional and would change all the time on everything whether it be a song or feelings. "He got early warning," Early in, the rest of the guys knew that Paul was going to be a problem so they warned him. "He got muddy water," A referance to Pauls changing facination to the band "Muddy Waters," Bluesy style. "he one mojo filter," Paul was very persuasive and would make the rest of the members bend to his will. "He say 'one and on and one is three'," Is a referance to Paul trying to constantly tell the rest of the band that even witout him, the band could survive. "Got to be good-looking because he's so hard to see," Paul was the "cute" one of the group and was also very hard to get along with and read as aperson.
===================================

Second interpretation........

Like a lot of John's lyrics (and like Dylan's), there are multiple meanings. The two didn't have their songs wrapped neatly in a bow for the listener to easily decipher. Both Dylan and Lennon (who were friends) realized they were truly lyrical geniuses and immensely popular. They probably took great glee in puzzling, provoking, intriguing and teasing their listeners. Listen to Desolation Row or Like a Rolling Stone where there are countless meanings. Same with I want you (she's so heavy)--drugs, sex?  

The song is probably on one level about the four individual Beatles. It is also about taking drugs. It is also about sex. In fact it is eerily similar to Happiness is a Warm Gun which also had multiple meanings---an actual pistol, sex, shooting drugs, etc. (bang bang, shoot shoot).

The first two verses are interesting in that they both could be about George and Ringo. Lyrrics could be interchanged. Flat top. Is that an old stodgy hair style? A guitar top? Groovin up slowly. Is that the groove of the song suggesting the drummer? Or someone who was square and was slowly becoming more hip?

Shoot coca cola has a drug reference but it could be about a Coke ad Ringo was asked to be "shot" in. 

The most interesting verse is the fourth which seems to be about Paul who is emotionally up and down (roller coaster), was getting guff form the other members for being too bossy (early warning), he was a buzz kill (mojo filter--filtered out other musicians creative ideas?).

The "one and one an one is three" seems to be John mocking Paul's overly simplistic song writing. He later sang in "How Do You Sleep," the only thing you did was Yesterday. 

"Got to be good lookin'" refers to the fact that he was the cute Beatle but the only thing he is noticed for is his looks not his intellect...(so hard to see...empty mind, or it could simply mean "hard to read" since he was impulsive and bossy. It seems to be John mocking Paul's overly simplistic mind.

The title Come Together could be John's plea to the band members to continue making great music together and not going solo. Or it could refer to the 1960's "let's all get along" ideal. Or again it could be about sex (cum together)...it could even be about Paul's death (come together over me in my grave).

There are a lot of religious meanings as well from their time in India and George's stronger religious beliefs.

I think it is by far their coolest song. It has a Stones-like groove with dynamic drumming and and a serious danceable groove. The song has a drug-like, happy groove with soaring lead guitar lines from George. The "shoot" parts could suggest shooting up (drugs),shooting your load (sex), or even death (shoot me).