"Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)" ("It's raining ye, bye baby) is an Italian song written by

Domenico Modugno Domenico Modugno (; 9 January 1928 – 6 August 1994) was an Italian singer, actor and, later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel blu, dipinto di blu (song), Nel blu dipinto di blu", ...

and Eduardo Verde. It won first prize at the 1959 Sanremo Music Festival, where it was performed twice, once by Modugno and once by

Johnny Dorelli Johnny Dorelli (real name Giorgio Guidi; born 20 February 1937) is an Italian actor, singer and television host. Early life Dorelli was born in Meda, Italy. In 1946 he moved to New York City with his family, where his father, Nino D'Aurelio ...

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress born in Egypt. She sang in eleven languages and sold millions of records internationally. Her best known son ...

recorded a song in French as "Ciao ciao bambina", which became a big hit in France and Canada and a pop standard in the

francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

world. It was used in

Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren, ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his co ...

commercial for their fall 2021 collection.

Background

The song is a dramatic ballad, with Modugno telling his lover that he knows their relationship is about to come to a close. He asks her for one more kiss and then tells her not to turn back as she walks away from him, because he still has feelings for her.

Eurovision

The song was chosen as the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 and Modugno was chosen to perform it. The song was performed third on the night, following 's

Birthe Wilke Birthe Wilke (born 19 March 1936) is a popular Danish singer. She grew up in a musical family in Copenhagen's Vesterbro area. Career When Wilke was in her teens, she won a talent competition at the National Scala Theatre in Copenhagen, sang ...

with "

Uh, jeg ville ønske jeg var dig Denmark was represented by Birthe Wilke, with the song "Uh, jeg ville ønske jeg var dig", at the 1959 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 11 March in Cannes, France. "Uh, jeg ville ønske jeg var dig" was chosen as the Danish entry at th ...

" and preceding 's

Jacques Pills Jacques Pills (born René Jacques Ducos; 7 January 1906, Tulle, France – 12 September 1970) was a French singer and actor. His impresario was Bruno Coquatrix. In 1959, Pills was the Monegasque entrant at the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 wit ...

with "

Mon ami Pierrot Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * ...

". At the close of voting, it had received 9 points, placing 6th in a field of 11. It was succeeded as Italian representative at the 1960 contest by

Renato Rascel Renato Rascel (), stage name of Renato Ranucci (; 27 April 1912 – 2 January 1991), was an Italian film actor and singer. He appeared in 50 films between 1942 and 1972. He represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960 with the s ...

with " Romantica".

Charts

Moudugno's version Dalida's version

Other recordings

covered it in Italian and was the first one to record a French version. The Italian version remained unreleased until a posthoumus album Italia mia in 1991. The French version was first issued on EP in 1959 and was the leading track of her album Le disque d'or de Dalida the same year. *In 1959 the song entered the

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Hit Parade after being recorded by a local group – The Yee Tin Tong Mandolin Band – and released by

Diamond Records Diamond Records was a record label, based in New York City, which was founded in 1961 by former Roulette Records executive Joe Kolsky. Another Roulette exec, Kolsky's brother Phil Kahl, joined Kolsky in the venture the following year. History S ...

(B-side: "Oh Marie"). *Also in 1959, French bandleader Jacky Noguez, along with his Musuette Orchestra, recorded an instrumental version which peaked at #24 on the

US Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. *In 1961, this song was covered by Hong Kong female singer

Kong Ling Kong Ling was a 1960s Hong Kong based singing star and recording artist who sang Jazz, Cha cha, Rock and roll and Pop music She had also recorded with popular Hong Kong pop group The Fabulous Echoes. Background Kong Ling's real name is Kong Yan ...

() on her LP album ''Off-Beat Cha Cha'' with the local Diamond Records. *Italo-American tenor

Sergio Franchi Sergio Franchi (born Sergio Franci Galli; April 6, 1926 – May 1, 1990) was an Italian-American tenor and actor who enjoyed success in the United States and internationally after gaining notice in Britain in the early 1960s. In 1962, RCA Vict ...

recorded this song on his 1966 RCA Victor album ''La Dolce Italy''.http://www.discogs.com Sergio Franchi *In 2015, Italian operatic pop trio

Il Volo Il Volo (; Italian for "The Flight") is an Italian operatic pop trio, consisting of baritone Gianluca Ginoble, and tenors Piero Barone and Ignazio Boschetto. They describe their music as "popera". Having won the Sanremo Music Festival 2015, the ...

recorded a rendition of this song on their EP ''Sanremo Grande Amore''.

References

Songs about weather Songs about parting 1959 songs Domenico Modugno songs Eurovision songs of 1959 Eurovision songs of Italy Number-one singles in Italy Sanremo Music Festival songs Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Songs written by Domenico Modugno 1950s ballads Songs with lyrics by Dino Verde {{1950s-song-stub