"" (; "But if I think about it") is a song in the

Genoese dialect Genoese, locally called or , is the main Ligurian dialect, spoken in and around the Italian city of Genoa, the capital of Liguria, in Northern Italy. A majority of remaining speakers of Genoese are elderly. Several associations are dedicated ...

of Ligurian. It has a central role in the folklore of the Italian city of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

and is commonly quoted as one of its symbols. The song was written by , with Attilio Margutti having helped with the music. "" was launched in 1925. Its first performance was by

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

Luisa Rondolotti, in Genoa's . Its lyrics speak of a Genoese emigrant to

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, who is thinking of coming back to his city. Notwithstanding his child's opposition, he finally goes back to Genoa.

Recordings

Other well known interpretations were that of

Giuseppe Marzari Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Giusep ...

and that, not sung but recited, of

Gilberto Govi Amerigo Armando Gilberto Govi (; 22 October 1885 – 28 April 1966) was an Italian film and stage actor and screenwriter. He was the founder of the Genoese Dialectal Theatre. Among his greatest successes were (, "How to marry off one's daugh ...

. In 1967 Mina reinterpreted the song. "" was also performed by Neapolitan singer

Massimo Ranieri Massimo Ranieri (born Giovanni Calone on 3 May 1951) is an Italian singer, actor, television presenter and director. Biography Early life Ranieri was born in Naples ( at Santa Lucia), the fifth of eight children in the family. When he was 10, yo ...

(together with Genoese showmen

Luca Bizzarri The last universal common ancestor (LUCA) is the most recent population from which all organisms now living on Earth share common descent—the most recent common ancestor of all current life on Earth. This includes all cellular organisms; th ...

and

Paolo Kessisoglu Paolo Kessisoglu (born 25 July 1969, in Genoa, Italy) is an Italian actor, comedian and TV presenter. He is best known for the duo Luca e Paolo, formed with his friend, Luca Bizzarri. Kessisoglu was also a member of the comedian group "Cavalli ...

) during the

Sanremo Music Festival 2011 The Sanremo Music Festival 2011 was the 61st annual Sanremo Music Festival, held at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo, province of Imperia, during the five nights between 15 February 2011 and 19 February 2011. The artistic director of the show was Gia ...

. by

in Sanremo.

Lyrics

Notes

References

Italian songs Culture in Genoa 1925 songs {{italy-stub