the italian song

In periferia fa molto caldo
mamma stai tranquilla sto arrivando
te la prenderai per un bugiardo
ti sembrava amore ma era altro
beve champagne sotto Ramadan
alla TV danno Jackie Chan
fuma narghilè mi chiede come va.

Mi chiede come va, come va, come va
sai già come va, come va, come va
penso più veloce per capire se domani tu mi fregherai
non ho tempo per chiarire perché solo ora so cosa sei
è difficile stare al mondo quando perdi l’orgoglio
lasci casa in un giorno.

Tu dimmi se
pensavi solo ai soldi, soldi
come se avessi avuto soldi, soldi
dimmi se ti manco o te ne fotti, fotti
mi chiedevi come va, come va, come va
adesso come va, come va, come va.

Ciò che devi dire non l’hai detto
tradire è una pallottola nel petto
prendi tutta la tua carità
menti a casa ma lo sai che lo sa
su una sedia lei mi chiederà.

Mi chiede come va, come va, come va
sai già come va, come va, come va
penso più veloce per capire se domani tu mi fregherai
non ho tempo per chiarire perché solo ora so cosa sei
è difficile stare al mondo
quando perdi l’orgoglio.

Ho capito in un secondo che tu da me
volevi solo soldi
come se avessi avuto soldi, soldi
prima mi parlavi fino a tardi, tardi
mi chiedevi come va, come va, come va
adesso come va, come va, come va?

Waladi, waladi, habibi ta’aleena
mi dicevi giocando giocando con aria fiera
waladi, waladi, habibi sembrava vera
la voglia, la voglia di tornare come prima

Io da te non ho voluto soldi
è difficile stare al mondo
quando perdi l’orgoglio
lasci casa in un giorno.

Tu dimmi se
volevi solo soldi, soldi
come se avessi avuto soldi, soldi
lasci la città ma nessuno lo sa
ieri eri qua ora dove sei, papà
mi chiedi come va, come va, come va
sai già come va, come va, come va.

In the outskirts of town, it’s really hot
Mamma, don’t worry, I’m on my way
you must feel resentment for that liar
it seemed like love to you, but it was something else
he drinks champagne during Ramadan[1]
on the TV, there’s Jackie Chan
he smokes hookah[2] and asks me “How’s it going?”

He asks me “How’s it going, how’s it going, how’s it going?
you already know how it’s going, how it’s going, how it’s going
I think really fast to try to understand if tomorrow you will deceive me
I don’t have time to clarify because only now I understand what you really are
it’s hard to get by in the world when you lose your pride
you leave the house in one day.

You tell me if
I was thinking only about money, money
as if I’d had money, money
tell me if you miss me, or if you don’t give a shit
you always asked me “How’s it going, how’s it going, how’s it going?”
now, how’s it going, how’s it going, how’s it going?

What you need to say, you didn’t say
betrayal is a bullet in the chest
you take all the charity you can get
you lie at home, but you know that she knows
seated on a chair, she will ask me.

She asks me “How’s it going, how’s it going, how’s it going?”
you already know how it’s going, how it’s going, how it’s going
I think really fast to try to understand if tomorrow you will deceive me
I don’t have time to clarify because only now I understand what you really are
it’s hard to get by in the world when you lose your pride
you leave the house in one day.

I understood in a flash that you, from me,
wanted only money, money
as if I had any money, money
before, you always talked to me until late, really late
you asked me “how’s it going, how’s it going, how’s it going?”
now, how’s it going, how’s it going, how’s it going?

My son, my son, my love come here[3]
you said it to me while playing, playing with a proud air
my son, my son, my love[4],it seemed true
the longing, the longing to return to how it was before.

I, from you, didn’t want any money
it’s hard to get by in the world
when you lose your pride
you leave the house in a day.

You tell me if
you always wanted only money, money
as if I’d had any money, money
you leave the city, but no one knows
yesterday you were here, now where are you daddy?
you ask me “How’s it going, how’s it going, how’s it going?”
you already know how it’s going, how it’s going, how it’s going.

NOTE:

[1] A reference to the hypocrisy of the father who drank alcohol that was prohibited during Ramadan, a sacred festival for Muslims.

[2] Smoking is another activity prohibited during daylight hours of Ramadan.

[3] Mahmood sings this verse in Arabic, the language of his Egyptian father Arabic: Waladi, waladi, habibi ta’aleena. Mahmood states in an interview that he remembers his father saying this to him when he was little.

[4] Also sung in Arabic: Waladi, waladi, habibi.