Translation of the song lyrics A' storia e maria - Ivan Granatino, Franco Ricciardi

A' storia e maria (original)

Siente, amico
Chello ca te dico
Nun 'e truove dint''e libre 'e storie 'e chisti viche
Storie 'e prumesse
Chi parte e chi resta
Storie 'e chi se guarda 'a vita 'aret'a 'na finestra
Siente, amico
Siente, amico
'A gente dice ca Maria nun è mai nata
Ca l’hanna inventata pe' scrivere 'e canzoni
Ce sta chi dice ca 'na vota l’ha 'ncuntrata
Era nera nera, cammenava a riva 'e mare
E mo…
Siente, amico
Siente, amico
Chello ca te dico
'A gente dice ca nun s'è mai 'nnammurata
Chi dice ca 'int''o core teneva a nu guaglione
Ca 'int'a 'na sera 'o dette 'o core e pure 'a vita
E doppo, zitta zitta, nisciuno ha mai saputo
E mo
Maria addò sta?
Maria che fa?
Maria nun se chiamm cchiù Maria
E mo
Maria comme sta?
Maria cu' chi sta?
Si ancora s’arricorda 'e me Maria
Siente, amico
Chello ca te dico
Nun 'e truove dint''e libre 'e storie 'e chisti viche
Storie 'e prumesse
Chi parte e chi resta
Storie 'e chi se guarda 'a vita 'aret'a 'na finestra
'A gente dice ca Maria se n'è partuta
Chi dice ca l’ha vista 'int'a 'na chiesa addunucchiata
Strigneva nu criaturo figlio d''o peccato
E doppo, zitta zitta, nisciuno ha mai saputo
E mo
Maria addò sta?
Maria che fa?
Maria nun se chiamm cchiù Maria
E mo
Maria comme sta?
Maria cu' chi sta?
Si ancora s’arricorda 'e me Maria
Starrà in America, nun speak cchiù italiano
Forse sta durmenno sott''a metropolitana
Starrà cantanno 'na canzona americana
O forse sta cantanno «'O sole mio» a Secondigliano
E mo
Maria addò sta?
Maria che fa?
Maria nun se chiamm cchiù Maria
E mo
Maria comme sta?
Maria cu' chi sta?
Si ancora s’arricorda 'e me Maria
Ye, ye
Siente, amico
Chello ca te dico
Ye, ye
'Na storia vecchia
Comme 'a vita
Siente, amico
Chello ca te dico
Nun 'e truove dint''e libre 'e storie 'e chisti viche
Storie 'e prumesse
Chi parte e chi resta
Storie 'e chi se guarda 'a vita 'aret'a 'na finestra
Ye, ye
Comme 'a vita
Ye, ye
Mai fernuta
Starrà in America, nun speak cchiù italiano
Forse sta durmenno sott''a metropolitana
Starrà cantanno 'na canzona americana
O forse sta cantanno «'O sole mio» a Secondigliano
E mo
Maria addò sta?
Maria che fa?
Maria nun se chiamm cchiù Maria
E mo
Maria comme sta?
Maria cu' chi sta?
Si ancora s’arricorda 'e me Maria
Siente, amico
Chello ca te dico
Nun 'e truove dint''e libre 'e storie 'e chisti viche
Storie 'e prumesse
Chi parte e chi resta
Storie 'e chi se guarda 'a vita 'aret'a 'na finestra
Ye, ye
'Na storia vecchia
Comme 'a vita
Ye, ye
'na storia vecchia
Mai fernuta

A' storia e maria (translation)

Listen, brother—
What I confide to you,
You’ll not unearth in books the tales these alleys cradle,
Tales wrought of promises—
Of those who wander, and those who remain,
Of souls who watch life unfurl, framed in a window’s narrow glass.
Listen, brother—
Listen, brother—
They say Maria was never ushered onto this earth,
She’s a figment, conjured for the sake of song,
Yet some would swear they crossed her path once—
Black as night-shadow, she drifted along the brine-lit shore,
And now…
Listen, brother—
Listen, brother—
Take in what I reveal to you,
They whisper Maria never surrendered to love,
Others claim she concealed a boy in her heart’s secret chamber,
That in one dusk, she bestowed her heart—and her life—
And after, silence grew like moss; no living soul ever knew.
And now—
Where has Maria vanished?
What becomes of Maria?
Maria bears a name that is no longer Maria.
And now—
How fares Maria, I wonder?
With whom does Maria wander?
Does memory of me still echo in Maria’s mind?
Listen, brother—
What I confide to you,
You’ll not unearth in books the tales these alleys cradle,
Tales wrought of promises—
Of those who wander, and those who remain,
Of souls who watch life unfurl, framed in a window’s narrow glass.
They say Maria departed into the distance,
Some saw her kneeling in the nave of a hushed church,
Clutching a child—offspring sired by sin’s own hand,
And then, silence thickened; no living soul ever knew.
And now—
Where has Maria vanished?
What becomes of Maria?
Maria bears a name that is no longer Maria.
And now—
How fares Maria, I wonder?
With whom does Maria wander?
Does memory of me still echo in Maria’s mind?
Perhaps she lingers in America, her tongue forgetting Italian,
Or lies dreaming beneath subway vaults,
Perhaps she weaves her voice into some American tune,
Or under Secondigliano’s sky she’s singing «O sole mio».
And now—
Where has Maria vanished?
What becomes of Maria?
Maria bears a name that is no longer Maria.
And now—
How fares Maria, I wonder?
With whom does Maria wander?
Does memory of me still echo in Maria’s mind?
Ye, ye—
Listen, brother—
What I confide to you,
Ye, ye—
An ancient tale—
Like a lifetime weathered by wind,
Listen, brother—
What I confide to you,
You’ll not unearth in books the tales these alleys cradle,
Tales wrought of promises—
Of those who wander, and those who remain,
Of souls who watch life unfurl, framed in a window’s narrow glass.
Ye, ye—
Like a lifetime weathered by wind,
Ye, ye—
Never extinguished—
Perhaps she lingers in America, her tongue forgetting Italian,
Or lies dreaming beneath subway vaults,
Perhaps she weaves her voice into some American tune,
Or under Secondigliano’s sky she’s singing «O sole mio».
And now—
Where has Maria vanished?
What becomes of Maria?
Maria bears a name that is no longer Maria.
And now—
How fares Maria, I wonder?
With whom does Maria wander?
Does memory of me still echo in Maria’s mind?
Listen, brother—
What I confide to you,
You’ll not unearth in books the tales these alleys cradle,
Tales wrought of promises—
Of those who wander, and those who remain,
Of souls who watch life unfurl, framed in a window’s narrow glass.
Ye, ye—
A tale old as longing,
Like a lifetime weathered by wind,
Ye, ye—
A tale old as longing,
Never extinguished—