"Luna mezz'o mare" (Moon amid the sea) is a comic Sicilian song with worldwide popularity, traditionally styled as a brisk

tarantella () is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the mo ...

. The song portrays a mother-daughter "coming of age" exchange consisting of various comic, and sometimes sexual, innuendos. It is frequently performed at

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

wedding receptions and other festive occasions. Hit versions have included "Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)" by

Rudy Vallée Hubert Prior Vallée (July 28, 1901 – July 3, 1986), known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, musician, actor, and radio host. He was one of the first modern pop stars of the teen idol type. Early life Hubert Prior Vall ...

and "Lazy Mary (Luna Mezzo Mare)" by

Lou Monte Lou Monte (born Louis Scaglione; April 2, 1917 – June 12, 1989) was an Italian American singer best known for a number of best-selling, Italian-themed novelty records which he recorded for both RCA Victor and Reprise Records in the late 1950 ...

Origin

Related music and lyrics appeared as early as 1835, in the art song "

La Danza "La danza" (Dance) (1835) is a patter song by Gioachino Rossini, in Tarantella napoletana time, the eighth song of the collection ''Les soirées musicales'' (1830–1835). The lyrics are by Count Carlo Pepoli (:it:Carlo Pepoli, it), librettist of ...

" (Tarantella Napoletana) by

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

and

Carlo Pepoli Count Carlo Pepoli (22 July 1796 – 7 December 1881) was an Italian politician and journalist. He was also acclaimed as a poet, his most well-known work being the libretto for Vincenzo Bellini's final opera, ''I puritani'' which was given its ...

. By 1871 in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, bawdier versions were circulating. In 1927,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

's Italian Book Company arranged and recorded a version by Sicilian sailor Paolo Citorello (sometimes spelled Citarella), and an American court upheld their copyright in 1928.

Popularity

Since the first recording in 1927, the song has proliferated with different titles and lyrics, both in English and in several variants of Italian. Hit recordings in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

have included "Oh! Ma-Ma!" by Rudy Vallée (1938, peaked at No. 8) and "Lazy Mary" by Lou Monte (1958, peaked at No. 12). Monte's version was initially banned from British broadcasts for undesirable innuendo, but has been played to a family-filled baseball stadium during the

seventh-inning stretch In baseball in the United States and Canada, the seventh-inning stretch is a long-standing tradition that takes place between the halves of the seventh inning of a game. Fans generally stand up and stretch out their arms and legs and sometimes w ...

at almost every

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

home game since the mid-1990s, as the result of a fan survey. The humorous lyrics center around a young woman wondering about marriage with various tradesmen (butcher, fisherman, fireman, etc.), ensuring the song's sustained popularity at Italian wedding receptions, including the opening scene of ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...

'' (1972).. The song was also included in the 2010 videogame

mafia II ''Mafia II'' is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by 2K Czech and published by 2K Games. It was released in August 24 2010 for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360. The game is a standalone sequel to 2002's ''Mafia (video game), Mafia'', an ...

, as part of the ficticious radio station Empire Classic. In early 2022 the song was used as part of a popular

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

trend where creators would use the song showing things in their home that just make sense while making a stereotypical Italian hand gesture to the beat of the song.

Notable recordings

The song has been notably recorded with the following performers and titles: * 1927: Paolo Citorello, "Luna mezzo mare" – original copyrighted version * 1929: Paolo Citorello, "Mamma a cu m'addari" * 1930: Paolo Citorello, "Mi vulissi maritari" * 1930s: Paolo Dones, "A luna 'mmenzu 'u mari" * 1928: Rosina Trubia Gioiosa, "Mi vogghiu maritari" Brunswick E26617-E26618 10-in. 2/23/1928 Mi vogghiu maritari Rosina Trubia Gioiosa Female vocal solo, with orchestra. * 1930s: Silvia Coruzzolo, "A luna mezzo o mare" * 1930s: I Diavoli, "La luna in mezzo al mare (A luna mmezzu 'u mari)" * 1938:

, "Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)" – #8 U.S. peak in ''

Your Hit Parade ''Your Hit Parade'' was an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1953 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During its 24-year r ...

''; not to be confused with the folk ballad, " The Butcher's Boy" * 1938: Dick Robertson, "Oh, Ma, Ma (The Butcher Boy)" * 1938: George Hall, "Oh! Ma Ma (The Butcher Boy)" * 1938:

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

, "Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)" * 1938:

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the Swing music, swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andre ...

, "Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)" * 1938:

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...

, "Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy) / Marie" * 1940:

Trio Lescano The Trio Lescano was a female musical ensemble, vocal group singing in Italian language, Italian from 1936 to 1950, originally consisting of Hungarian-Dutch sisters Alessandra Lescano (Alexandrina Eveline Leschan; 1910–1987), Giuditta Lescano ...

, "La luna in mezzo al mare" * 1946

Rose Marie Rose Marie (born Rose Marie Mazzetta; August 15, 1923 – December 28, 2017) was an American actress, singer, comedian, and vaudeville performer with a career ultimately spanning nine decades, which included film, radio, records, theater, night ...

, "Chena A Luna" * 1951:

Louis Prima Louis Leo Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and trumpeter. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he forme ...

, "Zooma Zooma" * 1951:

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

, "Luna mezzo mare" * 1958:

, "Lazy Mary (Luna mezzo mare)" – #12 U.S. peak in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''; not to be confused with the nursery rhyme " Lazy Mary, Will You Get Up" * 1960:

The Mills Brothers The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies an ...

, "Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)" * 1972:

, "Che la luna" * 1973: Salix Alba, "Oh Mama" * 1983: The Star Sisters, "Oh, ma-ma! (The butcher boy)" * 1999:

Frank Simms Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

, "Luna mezzo mare" * 2005:

Patrizio Buanne Patrizio Franco Buanne (born 20 September 1978) is an Italian-Austrian baritone singer, songwriter, and producer. Biography Early life Patrizio Buanne was born in Vienna, Austria to Franco and Alina Buanne; he spent his childhood living and t ...

, "Luna mezz'o mare" * 2015: Famiglia Amica Valenza, "C'e la luna mezz'o mare"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ce la luna mezzo mare 1927 songs 1958 singles Neapolitan songs Novelty songs Songs about marriage The Andrews Sisters songs Italian language in the United States Music of Sicily

Origin

Popularity

See also

Notable recordings

References