"Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)" ("It's raining ye bye, baby girl) is a song composed 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", for which he received the fir ...

with Italian lyrics by Eduardo Verde. It won first prize at the 1959 Sanremo Music Festival, where it was performed by both Modugno and

Johnny Dorelli Giorgio Guidi (born 20 February 1937), known professionally as Johnny Dorelli, is an Italian actor, singer and television host. Early life Giorgio Guidi was born in Meda, Lombardy, Italy. In 1946, he moved with his family to New York City, ...

. Performed by Modugno, it in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1959 The Eurovision Song Contest 1959 was the fourth edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on Wednesday 11 March 1959 at the in Cannes, France, and hosted by French television presenter Jacqueline Joubert. Organised by the European Broadca ...

held in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, placing sixth.

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida (, ; ), was an Italian naturalized French singer and actress. Leading an international career, Dalida has sold over 140 million records worldwide. Some ...

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 The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

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 founding the brand Ralph Lauren (brand), Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He stepped do ...

commercial for their fall 2021 collection.

Background

Conception

"Piove" was composed by

with Italian lyrics by Eduardo Verde. It is a dramatic ballad, with the singer 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.

Sanremo

On 29–31 January 1959, "Piove" performed by both Modugno and

competed in the of the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...

, that was used by

Radiotelevisione italiana (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Italy), Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial ...

(RAI) to select its song and performer for the of the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

. The song won the competition so it became the for Eurovision. The expert jury chose Modugno as the performer for the contest. Modugno recorded the song then in Italian as "Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)", German, Spanish, and in an Italian/English version.

Eurovision

On 11 March 1959, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the in

hosted by (RTF) and broadcast live throughout the continent. Modugno performed "Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)" third on the evening, following 's " Uh, jeg ville ønske jeg var dig" by

Birthe Wilke Birthe Wilke (born 19 March 1936) is a 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 as sol ...

and preceding 's " Mon ami Pierrot" by

Jacques Pills Jacques Pills (born René Jacques Ducos; 6 March 1906 – 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 with the song " Mon ami ...

. conducted the event's live orchestra in the performance of the Italian entry. At the close of voting, the song had received 9 points, placing sixth in a field of eleven. It was succeeded as Italian representative at the by " Romantica" by

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

Charts

Weekly charts

Modugno's version

Legacy

Dalila cover

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.

Weekly charts

Other recordings

*In 1959 the song entered the

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

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, also known as simply the 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), on ...

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

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 (; ) is an Italians, Italian operatic pop Trio (music), trio, consisting of Gianluca Ginoble, Piero Barone, and Ignazio Boschetto. They describe their music as "popera". Having won the Sanremo Music Festival 2015, they represented Italy ...

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina) 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 of 1959 Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Songs written by Domenico Modugno 1950s ballads Songs with lyrics by Dino Verde

Background

Conception

Sanremo

Eurovision

Charts

Weekly charts

Legacy

Dalila cover

Weekly charts

Other recordings

See also

References

External links