Choral Public Domain Library

I'm having trouble translating the following into English. Have tried on-line dictionaries, but no luck; also tried my small Italian-English dictionary: No luck there either. Perhaps I'm missing something. Can someone help? I found this piece here on the CPDL, but am having trouble finding it again to give you the link. The title of the piece is:

A-Nice (finto inno)

My knowledge of Italian is of the most basic tourist variety I'm afraid. This is the text of the song (canon):

Casso xe casso, buso no ga occi.

(I hope it's printable!)

Thanks,

K

That's not "normal" Italian, but some regional dialect. "Finto inno" is, I believe, "pretend hymn" or "fake hymn". I wonder whether "xe" is equivalent to "che" and "occi" to "oggi" in the standard language. I'm sure Max will be along soon with an informed opinion!

DF

We (admins) had some internal discussion about such a score, as its text (that is dialect of the Venice area) has quite explicit contents. We wondered whether it was eligible for being published at ChoralWiki. I contacted the composer, who clarified the goliardic nature of his work, so we decided that there was no reason to censor it.

"casso" corresponds to the Italian "cazzo", male sexual organ.

"xe" may be "che" but it I think it may also be related to the French "c'est", so we can translate as "it's a" or "what a".

"buso" corresponds to the Italian "buco", i.e., "hole".

"no ga" = "non ha" (English: "has no")

"occi" = "occhi"(English: "eyes").

So...

Max

Not for church then?

Thanks Max. Interesting about the golliards: I just had a quick look for them on wikipedia and shall research more later.

This will make for some interesting discussion within our small ensemble.

Yet again I am grateful for the generosity of the CPDLers who are so willing to share the fruits of their erudition with us all.

Kay

edited to add (and in a spirit of scholarship): Do you think a fair, liberal translation would be something like: "What a -----! The ---- hasn't got clue!

Hi, from what I've found, this text is an inversion of a traditional (male) Venetian saying, "el buso xe buso e 'l casso no gà ocio" (litt. "a vagina is a vagina, the penis has no eyes", meaning "any lady is good enough, my male organ is blind"). In this new version, the sexual roles were inverted, so "el casso xe casso, buso no gà oci" (literally "a penis is a penis, the vagina has no eyes") means something in the line "I don't mind how he looks like, my sex is blind" (probably said by a not very selective lady :).

Some sources (in Italian):
http://www.theattractionforums.com/ita- ... f-b-3.html
http://illegalidispersi.splinder.com/post/20176720

Thank you: I get the drift of the sentiment expressed in this canon. Unfortunately (fortunately?) I can't read the Italian in your links, Carlos. And there I think I'll let this matter rest.

We (admins) had some internal discussion about such a score, as its text (that is dialect of the Venice area) has quite explicit contents.

Oh... ok, you've made the good choice when publishing.
There are so many explicit songs in the Renaissance, for instance, and evreyone is able to define one's own principles, and to apply them.
CPDL members are grown ups.