Leon wrote me,
HELLO
MY GRANDCHILDREN HAVE BEEN AFTER ME FOR SOME TIME TO FIND THE ITALIAN AND ENGLISH WORDS FOR AN OLD ITALIAN SONG WE USED TO SING AS KIDS CALLED (IN ENGLISH) “THE BUTCHER BOY”.
IT WAS A PEPPY SONG, SET TO THE RHYTHM OF THE ITALIAN TARANTELLA. ANY IDEAS?
THANKS
LEON FRANCISCO
If anyone is familiar with this song, please comment below.
Thanks! Lisa
This article was posted on Monday, March 6th, 2006 at 3:42 pm and is filed under Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italy, Languages, Questions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
86 Responses to “Looking for an Italian Song called “The Butcher Boy” in English”
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January 7th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
April 8th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
I am looking for a song that I heard in Southern California in the early 1950s. Half in English half in Spanish. So the English words are: Oh how I wanted to tell you my dear just what I feel in my heart: and then it goes into Spanish, I believe as a waltz tempo. Does anyone know this song. I have been looking for years.
April 20th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
Diane:
Hope you’ll check back here…this took a bit of research (and it’s Italian, not Spanish)!
The song you are looking for is Tell Me You’re Mine first performed in 1952 by The Gaylords. The group was known for singing songs partly in English and partly in Italian.
Here are the English lyrics (I haven’t found the Italian ones yet) :
Oh my wonderful one
How I adore you
Through the day and the night
I’m longing for you
Won’t you tell me you care
Oh I implore you
While the stars above shine
Oh a new world I’ll find
If you’ll tell me you’re mine
Oh how I wanted to tell you my dear
Just what was in my heart
And here is a performance of the song by The Gaylords:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IaHYXow5F4
June 15th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
Thanks ‘bianco’ for the lyrics and also Lisa for the U-tube clip. I used to play my father’s LP’s when Mum & Dad were out and this one was my favourite. Who actually sang the song I have not determined yet. However both your contributions brought back distant memories and a smile on my face,
July 2nd, 2010 at 1:21 pm
the song at the begining of the god father had a translation done by the singer in the movie. he sang first in itilian sicilian then saidnow for those of you unfamilar with itilian i will give it to you i BRITISH. IN THE movie the singer was jhonney fontaine.
July 2nd, 2010 at 1:25 pm
i belive the line in english one anyway was lazy marian you have to get up the reply was i am not able. maybe louie primadid this version it was sung by singer jonney fontaine . it looks like their are many versions of this song.
July 26th, 2010 at 8:00 am
Julian, actually the “translation” you’re thinking of isn’t in the Godfather but rather from Lou Monte’s recorded version. But his English words are not in any way a translation, it’s just something that gives sort of similar ideas which fit the music. That’s the problem with many versions of these songs as done by Italian-American singers. They range from actual translations, to those which “sort of” keep the main ideas with new words, to completely new, unrelated words, as in “There’s No Tomorrow” as done by Elvis, Dean Martin, and others. The problem of course is when we think they’re actual translations when they are not. Others here also touched on the “dialect” issue. The vast majority of “Italian” songs we in American know are actually Neapolitan (for a combination of historical and cultural reasons). Like “C’e’ la Luna…” there are usually other, especially Southern, versions of the songs, but the “true” ones are the Neapolitan ones (e.g. Citarella’s version). And of course, most are also translated into in standard Italian. So, it’s a complete mish-mash, to put it in technical terms, which helps shed light on the whole thing if we remember that. As for Louis Prima’s wild version…who knows, his “Sicilian” may even be a sort of Creole-gumbo influenced by his New Orleans roots! Well, maybe not, but, it’s not the case that “no one” understands Sicilian anymore. In fact, in some regions, I believe there are now efforts to preserve the dialects.
August 6th, 2010 at 12:51 am
I learned it like this!
Oh Mother dear come over here and see whose lookin By my window
It’s the Baker Boy the Baker Boy Hes a Makin Eyes at me
Tell me why he winks his eye whenever he goes by my window
for I’m for him and hes for me and thats the way its gonna be!
Oh mama! Go catch that man for me!
Oh Mama! How happy I will be!
Tra Lala! And Cherry Cherry Be
For If I’m gonna marry its the baker boy for me!
and so on with other occupationsss lol. i love that, my grandparents would dance to that.
August 8th, 2010 at 5:20 am
I want to thank druid and jo-anne for you response. I totally forgot that I had posted this. I thought the song was lost as my father passed away 7 years ago. I sing it to my daughter and want to pass it on. I’m crying tonight from happiness. Thank you both.
August 11th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
In my small-city home town just prior to and during WWII a Sunday morning music hour put on by a local baker often included this song (the “…the *** boy, the *** boy, I wanna marry the *** boy”, where *** was “butcher”, then “baker”, then a third I can’t remember). I was in high school at the time, class of 1945.
September 2nd, 2010 at 6:23 pm
I’m writeing my College essay about the person who had the most influence on my life and it turns out it’s my late grandfather whom i’ve never met and died when my mama was sixteen.
She taught me the song:
(italian lyrics first)
Hey mama it’s the butcher boy for me
hey mama he’s as cute as he can be
gonna marry gonna marry butcher boy for me
gonna marry gonna marry cause he’s as cute as he can be.
i’m a music major or an asspiring music major and his is the first song i ever learned (besides itsy bitsy spider)
this song means so much to me
September 28th, 2010 at 6:55 am
Thank you SOOOOO much for the You-Tube clip!! It brought tears
(of joy) to my eyes and left me with “goose bumps” to hear that song again! It must be over 50 yrs (I’m 58) since I’ve heard that song. It brought back such sweet memories of us kids jumping around (trying to dance) at our family get togethers!! God Bless.
October 16th, 2010 at 12:08 am
My Dad (born in 09) was always performing some vaudeville skit around the house. He must have seen an adult humored version of this song. He sang: ” Oh Mommie Dear come over here and see who’s peeking through the window. It’s the Butcher Boy, he says he’s got salami for ya” Which prompted my Mother’s laughing response. “Oh Harold, not in front of the children” He also sang to the same tune: “Lazy Mary get out of bed, we need the bed sheet for the table” Remnants of a simpler time.
October 22nd, 2010 at 8:25 pm
Hello there. I know its a little old , but i am searching for the Paolo Citarelli Version of Che la luna , and cant find it in Mp3 format online. can anyone send it to me please?
October 28th, 2010 at 9:54 am
“# Neecee LaVetty Says:
May 1st, 2009 at 9:12 pm
My sister and I and all our friends used to sing a “Butcher Boy” song like this –
In New York City where I was born
A butcher boy I knew so well
He stole my heart away from me
and never gave it back to me
He sat a girl upon his knee
and told her tales he never told me
and now I know the reason why
because she had more gold than I
My father came home that very night
expecting to find his daughter all right
he went upstairs and opened the door
and there he found her on the floor
Oh grief, oh grief, oh what have you done
You killed yourself for the butcher’s son
For the butcher’s son you killed yourself
and this is what she said to me…”
I just came across this while looking for this song that my Italian grandparents sang to me as a little girl. These lyrics are the closest to the ones my grandmother used to sing to me, except she said “in Jersey City”, even tho we lived in Philadelphia? lol. Anyway, does anyone have any info on this version and where it came from?
Thanks!! p.s. My grandmom and grandpop died, one 15 years ago and one 5 years ago, so this means alot to me. I am passing it on to my daughter.
February 5th, 2011 at 9:38 pm
I sang:
In Jersey City where I was born
A butcher boy I knew so long
He stole my heart away from me
And never gave it back you see
He sat a girl upon his knee
And told her tales he never told me
And now I know the reason why
Because she had more gold than I
I went upstairs to make my bed
And not a word to mother I said
I sat right down and started a letter
And soon you’ll know what the letter said
My father came home that very same night
Expecting to find his daughter so bright
He went upstairs and opened the door
And there he found me right on the floor
Oh grief oh grief oh what have you done?
You’ve killed yourself for a butcher’s son
He looked around and spotted the letter
And this is what the letter said:
I wish, I wish, I wish, I wish
I wish I were 16 again
16 again I’ll never be
Til apples grow on cherry trees
So dig my grave and dig it deep
And fill it with pebbles from head to feet
And on the top a golden dove
To show the world I died of love
February 24th, 2011 at 12:37 am
My Italian grandmother Rita used to sing this song to me. The last one is the most accurate to the version she sang to me. This also means a lot to me. I remember when she sang this to me I would get so sad listening to the words. I decided to search for this thinking I wouldn’t find much. What a pleasant surprise.
March 28th, 2011 at 10:23 pm
Can anyone tell me where I can find the cartton version of this song that came out in the 60’s It was a bouncing ball sond similar the typeMitch Miller used to show.
May 9th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
Thanks Arlene and Dawn for posting these lyrics. My Mom used to sing this song all the time and I’d been thinking about it for awhile. She used to sing the longer version that Arlene posted, but it took place in NYC, like Dawn’s version. It was so wonderful to see these words, my Mom passed over 5 years ago and it was like finding another piece of her. Thank again so much. Do you know who sang this? Take good care.
June 21st, 2011 at 7:02 am
my Aunt Jean – who died 2 years ago at the age of 92 used to sing this song with her sisters and nieces while they were all cooking in the kitchen together.
In Jersey City, where I was born
A butcher’s son, I loved so well
he stole my heart away from me
and now he does not look at me
he talks to strange girls on his knee
he tells them things he won’t tell me
and now i know the reason why
because they have more gold than I
i went upstairs and sat me down
with pen and ink i wrote it down
and with each line i dropped a tear
calling back my lover dear
when father came home late that night
calling dear his daughter bright
he went upstairs the door he broke
and found her hanging by a rope
oh grief oh grief what have you done
gave up your life for a butcher’s son
he took a knife and cut her down
and on her breast these words were found
oh dig my grave oh dig it deep
with marble stone from head to feet
and on the top a pure white dove
to show the world i died for love.
I wish i wish i wish in vain
i wish i were 16 again
16 again I’ll never be
till apples grow on cherry trees
August 2nd, 2011 at 5:58 pm
My uncle had a copy of “Butcher Boy” which he played for us over fifty years ago. When his son and I were teenagers, he gave us a rough translation. As pointed out above there have been many versions sung and or offered but it boils down to a young girl noting the full moon over the sea welling up with romantic emotion telling her mother she wants to get married. Her mother offers that she is too young and both lovingly and mockingly points out that of the available suitors, she wouldn’t know what to do when the time came. When the Troubador begins to play YOU like he plays his guitar with his fingers; when the grocery delivery boy offers you his big cucumber (citrolla grande!) when the butcher boy shows you his salami, ……etcetera, etcetera,…
In the movie wedding scene it is obvious that that mama Corleone doesn’t want to be the one to sing the traditional bawdy wedding song but she agrees and she sings a less suggestive line. When the old man gets his turn he sings the verses about what a young prospect intends to do with his new bride. You don’t need to know one word of Sicilian to understand that the new husband intends to use every room in the house, multiple times, and (gesturing) he intends to spread it this wide!!!
With all due respect to Dean Martin and Louis Prima, what they recorded were much sanitized versions substituting “La La La….” for the good stuff. I’m sure their night club acts were far more entertaining.
September 4th, 2011 at 4:13 am
When I was very young, in about 1960, I remember my older sisters singing this. I don’t know why, but I remember the lyrics vividly. They are very similar to what Arlene wrote, but slightly different.
In Jersey City where I was born
The butcher’s son I knew so long
He stole my heart away from me
And never gave it back to me
He sat a girl upon his knee
And told her stories he never told me
And now I know the reason why
Because she had more gold than I
I went upstairs to make my bed
And not a word to mother I said
I took a chair and sat me down
With pen and ink I wrote this down
My father came home that very night
Expecting to find his daughter so bright
He ran upstairs and opened the door
And there he found me on the floor
Oh dear, oh dear, what have you done?
You’ve killed yourself for the butcher’s son
He turned around and spotted the note
And this is what the letter wrote:
I wish, I wish, I wish I were
I wish I were sixteen again
Sixteen again I’ll never be
Til apples grow on cherry trees
So dig my grave, and dig it deep
And fill it with pebbles from head to feet
And on the top a golden dove
To tell the world I died for love
October 28th, 2011 at 11:50 pm
Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)
by The Andrews Sisters
Send “Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)” Ringtone to your Cell
Oh Ma-Ma!
Oh, catcha dat man-a for me!
Oh Ma-Ma!
How happy I will be!
Oh Ma-Ma!
I’ll cheery-beery be!
Oh, if I’m gonna marry,
It’s-a da butcher boy for me!
Hey, Marie!
I gotta da lamb chop!
Hey, Marie!
I gotta da pork-a chop!
Hey, Marie!
Marie!
‘Ya wanna marry me?
Oh Ma-Ma!
Oh, catch-a dat man-a for me!
Oh, Ma-Ma!
How happy I will be!
Oh, Ma-Ma!
I’ll cheery-beery be!
Oh, if I’m gonna marry,
It’s-a da baker boy for me!
Hey, Marie!
I gotta da fruitcake!
Hey, Marie!
I gotta da cheesecake!
Hey, Marie!
Marie!
‘Ya wanna marry me?
Oh Ma-Ma!
Oh, catcha dat man-a for me!
Oh Ma-Ma!
How happy I will be!
Oh Ma-Ma!
I’ll cheery-beery be!
Oh, if I’m gonna marry,
It’s-a da butcher boy for me!
—
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
written by RUDY VALLEE, PAOLO CITORELLO
Lyrics © SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC.
Send “Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)” Ringtone to your Cell
October 29th, 2011 at 12:12 am
“Luna Mezzo Mare” in English, and Vallee was the man to do it. In 1938, he recorded the song as a novelty tune called “Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)” on Bluebird Records. The label categorized it as a Fox Trot rather than a Tarantella. It re-worked the original Italian story of a daughter asking her mother to find her someone to marry, with the mother considering various occupations of men and their drawbacks. In “Oh! Ma-Ma!” the daughter is named Marie.
These vocals are credited on the label to Red Stanley and the Gentlemen Songsters. Also heard are the voices of three of the various suitors, beginning with the Butcher Boy, who speaks to Marie in an Italian accent and offers what he has in his hand (in this case, the contents of a bundle of meat). Unlike the mother in “Luna,” this Ma-Ma approves of each boy, telling Marie that they’re in love and “love is grand.” Thus, Vallee cleverly sanitized the risque original, with the zany quality of the record making it a huge hit.
And there would be no lawsuit here. The sheet music credits both Vallee and Paolo Citorello as the writers, with the Italian Book Company as the original 1928 copyright owner (although the copyright was assigned to Shapiro, Bernstein in New York, who later list Lew Brown, a popular song writer known for “The Beer Barrel Polka,” “Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries,” and many others, as a co-writer). Clearly stated, it says “Oh! Ma-Ma!” is “based on the popular Italian song success ‘Luna Mezzo Mare’”.
Who will Marie marry? For the answer, the road leads to the Andrews Sisters.
Read more: Terza Parte! Bob Shannon Goes Behind the Hits: Lou Monte’s ‘Lazy Mary’ http://wcbsfm.radio.com/2011/09/18/terza-parte-bob-shannon-goes-behind-the-hits-lou-montes-lazy-mary/#ixzz1c8mgeVwp
October 29th, 2011 at 12:19 am
Oh! Ma-Ma!” is “based on the popular Italian song success ‘Luna Mezzo Mare’”.“Luna Mezzo Mare” in English, and Vallee was the man to do it. In 1938, he recorded the song as a novelty tune called “Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)” on Bluebird Records. The label categorized it as a Fox Trot rather than a Tarantella. It re-worked the original Italian story of a daughter asking her mother to find her someone to marry, with the mother considering various occupations of men and their drawbacks. In “Oh! Ma-Ma!” the daughter is named Marie.
October 29th, 2011 at 12:32 am
Italian version of: Che La Luna Mezzo Mare, by Lou Monte
C’ ‘na luna mezz’u mare
Mamma mia m’a maritare
Figlia mia a cu te dare
Mamma mia pensace tu
Se te piglio lu pesciaiole
Isse vai isse vene
Sempe lu pesce mane tene
Se ce ‘ncappa la fantasia
Te pesculia figghiuzza mia
Là lariulà pesce fritt’e baccalà
Uei cumpà no calamare c’eggi’accattà
C’ ‘na luna mezz’u mare
Mamma mia m’a maritare
Figlia mia a cu te dare
Mamma mia pensace tu
Se te piglio lu pulezia
Isse vai isse vene
Semp’a scuppetta mane tene
Se ce ‘ncappa la fantasia
Te scuppettea figghiuzza mia
Là lariulà pesce fritt’e baccalà
Uei cumpà ‘na scuppetta c’eggi’accattà
Lazy Mary you better get up
She answered back I am not able
Lazy Mary you better get up
We need the sheets for the table
Lazy Mary you smoke in bed
There’s only one man you should marry
My advice to you would be
Is to pay attention to me
You’d better marry a fireman
He’ll come and go, go and come
Sempe la pompa mane tene
Se ce ‘ncappa la fantasia
Te pomperia figghiuzza mia
Là lariulà pesce fritt’e baccalà
Uei cumpà ‘na pompina c’eggi’accattà
0 cummà ca m’ voglio marità
Trovame ‘na uagliotta
Ca me voglio marità
Trovame ‘na uagliotta
Ca me voglio marità
Trovame ‘na uagliotta
Ca me voglio marità
Hey!
December 5th, 2011 at 5:11 pm
Look up “Oh, Mama(Tulip Time)” by Trio Lescano on YouTube for more info.
December 12th, 2011 at 4:54 pm
Nona version is the one my mother right from northern Italy would sing. She said it was a cleaner version. She said the sicialian version got a little nasty and valgar. Its what ever you were brought up with. My neices parrot now sings the tarantella since my mom sang it to all of us. We miss her so much.
December 2nd, 2012 at 11:12 am
Does anyone know what the word Zooma means in American? I’ve heard it meant to consume, but I think that is incorrect. When I was a kid living in New Orleans I would always hear this song at wedding receptions. My Grandparents were from Busiquino Sicily.
December 1st, 2013 at 11:15 am
My dad used to sing oh mama (butcher boy) to me back in the early sixties. I seem to recall Doris Day singing it( he was a big fan) but maybe it was the Andrews sisters thanks for the memories
April 6th, 2014 at 7:00 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9reC-9i4fxw starts at 1.38
February 7th, 2015 at 10:13 pm
Rudy Vallee – Oh, Ma, Ma (The Butcher Boy) 1938 Paolo Citorello
http://youtu.be/OefirsXCb9A
March 4th, 2015 at 3:43 pm
I see a lot of different info regarding different versions of this song, but does anyone know the actual name of the old man who sings “La Luna Mezzo Mare” in the wedding scene of The Godfather? I work for a movie/film cast info & trivia app software company… and this is driving me crazy! You’d think anything & everything about a movie this prominent would be know… but I can’t find his name anywhere. Any and all help is greatly appreciated!! Thank you!! Feel free to reply here, or email me directly: bjones531@gmail.com
September 9th, 2015 at 3:38 am
Can anyone tell me where to get the sheer music for C’e La Luna- Lazy Mary
November 13th, 2019 at 12:34 pm
I grew up listening to my Grandmother’s 78 record. It was labeled “The Butcher Boy” “Che La Luna” and it was recorded by Dwight (Emanual … I think) and the Duotones. I have only ever been able to find a very poor recording that was put on a cassette tape, which no long exists. I wish I could find this recording. I do believe this was sung in the Sicilian dialect.
June 4th, 2020 at 2:37 am
Louis Prima’s version called “Che La Luna” and he sings it in both Sicilian dialect and English alternating
https://open.spotify.com/album/3RxmX6eL51HiVM2q0NjgL7?highlight=spotify:track:4LEZGxgtNtnILHuHmwZLJ6