Thursday, January 13, 2011

Dialogue in 'You're Lionel Richie'

From Stefano Fasti, who's had an early listen to 'You're Lionel Richie' on YouTube:
I translated the Italian dialogue for you.

00:30 - a few words not in Italian and really not understandable...

00:46 - "Disse che l'aveva trovato: voleva uccidere il lupo. Ma il lupo non morì mai. Doveva mordersi nella sua pelle. perché stava pensando, disse la foresta, stava pensando un modo per farlo guarire quel povero leone"

In English:

"He(/she) said that he(/she) found him: he(/she) wanted to kill the wolf. But the wolf never died. He (the wolf) should bite his own skin... because he(/she) was thinking about, said the forest, he(/she) was thinking about a way to make him heal, that poor lion"

It seems clear to me that the speaker is surely not Italian, maybe French? But I can't be sure of his nationality. It's a very cryptic short tale and I haven't managed to find its author yet. I don't know if these are only excerpts from a longer story. The passage from the wolf to the lion is very strange and I can't understand the change of subject. Yes, very cryptic. Even if I am absolutely sure of the words spoken in Italian.

Thanks Stefano.
Maybe this is film dialogue? Anyone know?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

it sounds like some ancient poem... I think the wolf could be the wild inside us... I dunno... Very interesting....

fizzy said...

It's Dr. Kiko's voice, legend ATP dj, friend of the band.
He wrote it when he was a child.

Source: http://www.kalporz.com/wp/2011/01/mogwai-hardcore-will-never-die-but-you-will-rock-action-records-2011/ (Italian webzine review)

Rob said...

Thanks for the info.

Francesco said...

In my opinion the comma after "foresta" is wrongly positioned.
I'm italian, I know that the speaker reads the sentence with the punctuation you wrote down...but it makes more sense if you consider this version:
"Doveva mordersi nella sua pelle perche stava pensando, disse,la foresta stava pensando un modo per farlo guarire, quel povero leone".

Not considering some obvious mistakes, I colud try, with these new punctuation, to find a less obscure meaning.

The subject of the story could be "the lion". He was searching for the wolf ("il lupo") to kill him, so he went into the forest and finally found his enemy; probably they had a fight and the lion was almost mortally wounded, but in the end the wolf (probably damaged too) never died.

Then there's this incomprehensible line: "doveva mordersi nella sua pelle"..."mordersi nella sua pelle" means nothing...it's "bite in his own skin".

Trying to find an interpretative key I guess we can translate it as: "he has to suffer and resist".

So, with my punctuation, the situation can be clarified as follows: the lion, wounded, had to suffer and resist because he knew that the forest was trying to figure out a way to save him, the lion.

The new punctuation turn the sentence in sort of an indirect dialogue of the lion. So it's like: "the lion told/said: i have to resist cause he's thinking, (and then he clarifies who ih "he"), the forest is thinking of a way to save my life"



I'd like you to tell me if you agree or not...like to read your versions.

Take care,
Francesco

leone said...

i am italian too, and i'm pretty sure the line is "doveva avvolgersi nella sua pelle", not "doveva mordersi nella sua pelle". In the former case it translates as "he had to wear(/wrap around himself) his skin(/hide)"; it could be referring to either the lion or the wolf. Also, i think someone said the reader isn't italian, i disagree. He is italian, but he has a mild southern accent (sicilian?).

Anonymous said...

I think he says:

"disse che l'aveva trovato, doveva uccidere il lupo, ma il lupo non morì mai; doveva avvolgersi nella sua pelle, perchè stava pensando, disse alla foresta, stava pensando ad un modo per farlo guarire, quel pover leone"

That is: "He said he found him, he had to kill the wolf, but the wolf never died; He had to wear his skin (/fur?), because he was thinking, he said to the forest, he was thinking about a way to heal him, that poor lion"

dr kiko said...

hello.
I am the author of the lyrics.
here the truth: barry called me on skype. i thought he needed someone to check his skype account so he asked me to say something in italian but to (try) to speak clearly. I just woke up, and I didn't knew what to say. I had near me a note book from my primary school when i was 8 or 9 years old. so I opened it and I started to read randomly some words were on my note book. without any sense. i would have never imagined it would have ended up on the record. Btw, I am the best "singer" mogwai have ever had. Iggy pop? Roky Erikson? gruff rhys? Aidan? pffff.... I am number one! Of course just kidding. I hope you enjoyed Mogwai at #1 in uk. they deserved it. it was like your underdog small football team wins the champions league. even more than leicester winning premier league or nottingham forest winning champions league. love to all the mogwai fans .
Dr Kiko