In 1943, upon the surrender of Italy to the Allies two years before the end of WWII, Giovannino Guareschi and many other Italian soldiers became voluntary prisoners of a German army to which they would not swear allegiance. Guareschi and those with him in the German Lager (prison camp) suffered terribly, yet also formed a close fellowship.

Though it was their miserable condition which united them, the prisoners shared more than just cold, hunger, and nostalgia. They also shared their good news from home, and when GG received word in December that his second child had been born two months earlier, his compatriots rejoiced with him. I'm told that the men who had families at home regarded little Carlotta (Sra. Guareschi had named the baby after the headstrong heroine of her husband's latest book) as a kind of "surrogate daughter." And GG's lyric celebrating the blessed event, with tune composed by musician prison-mate Arturo Coppola, became the unofficial "anthem" of the camp. [In August, 1998, during my trip to Northern Italy, I was actually introduced to an ex-prisoner who still remembered the song from those days--over 50 years ago!!!]

Guareschi and Coppola had the song published in 1950; at right is the design by GG which appears on the cover of the sheet music. I'm going to reproduce the lyrics below, for the time being without translation. But I can give you the general gist of the thing:

The verses say that, although the lager (prison camp) may be a cold, mute, colorless place; in the heart is a "country of the sun," where there is light, warmth, and, now, Carlotta. The refrain talks about how little Carlotta's mother has told the baby girl that her father will return, so she'd better watch for him on the balcony. Of course, she can't see him yet, and so she wonders what this famous "husband of mama'" will be like. And there, I'm afraid, my exceedingly limited ability to decipher Italian runs out altogether! But I hope I can come up with some kind of a literal translation, if not a rhyming and scanning one, someday.

Now, to go with Guareschi's lyrics, I've also managed to digitize Coppola's music. Click here to download and play the midi file; it's about three and a half minutes long, as it contains both verses for "sing-along" purposes. [Singers, don't forget to wait for the four-bar intro. And it'll require some slurring to get all the words in, as those who've sung in Italian will be aware. :-)] I had to guess on the tempo, BTW, so anyone who knows this piece better than I should feel free to get in touch and correct me.

"CARLOTTA"

(verse 1)
Quando sopra il lager nel mattino senza color
si scatena il vento e porta cupo gelo nel cuor
nel paese del sol, tutto luce e calor
sulla sua seggiolina, la Carlottina sta.

(refrain)
La mamma l'ha annunciato con estrema serieta'
il babbo tornera', ma certo tornera'
pero' lei deve stare buona, buona sul balcon
guardando sempre la', verso il canton.

Seduta sul balcone la Carlotta se ne sta
e aspetta quel papa', che visto mai non ha
e palesando invero ragguardevole apprension
sospira masticando il biberon.

(bridge)
Chi sa, chi sa come sara'
questo famosissimo marito di mamma'
forse avra' i baffon, la barba ed il pancion
la pipa ed il baston, e gli occhiali col cordon.
(spoken) (Chi sa, chi sa che scassatissimo papa')

Ormai tramonta il sole e tutta azzura e' la citta'
per oggi non verra', cattivo d'un papa'
gli occhietti gia' si chiudon sulla nuova delusion
il sonno fa cadere il biberon.

~~~~~

(verse 2)
Glace il lager muto, senza vita, senza doman
le baracche vuote, le torrette senza guardian
nel paese del sol, tutto luce e calor
sulla sua seggiolina, la Carlottina sta.

(refrain)
La mamma l'ha annunciato con estrema serieta'
il babbo tornera', ma certo tornera'
pero' lei deve stare buona, buona sul balcon
guardando sempre la', verso il canton.

Seduta sul balcone la Carlotta se ne sta
e aspetta quel papa', che visto mai non ha
e palesando invero ragguardevole apprension
sospira masticando il biberon.

(bridge)
Chi sa, chi sa come sara'
questo famosissimo marito di mamma'
forse avra' i baffon, la barba ed il pancion
la pipa ed il baston, e gli occhiali col cordon.
(spoken) (Chi sa, chi sa che scassatissimo papa')

Ed ecco appare all'angolo uno spledido guerrier
le stelle ha sul cimier, d'argento e' il suo piastrin:
il giustacuore azzurro ed i bottoni tutti d'or:
E' il babbo! E torna quasi vincitor! ...

~~fin~~

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