However Beautiful
(Lucio Battisti - 1972)

Tu vestita di fiori
You were dressed by flowers
o di fari in città
or by lights in the town
con la nebbia o i colori
with the fog or the colours
cogliere le rose a piedi nudi e poi
(we had) pick(ed) roses barefoot and then
con la sciarpa stretta al collo bianca come mai
(you were dressed by) the scarf tight around your neck, (it had never been) so white
ma...
but...

eri bella
you were (so) beautiful
bella
beautiful
comunque bella
however beautiful

Quando l’arcobaleno
When the rainbow
era in fondo ai tuoi occhi
was at the bottom of your eyes
quando sotto al tuo seno
when, below your breast,
l’ira avvelenava il cuore tuo perché
the rage would poison your heart as
tu vedevi un’altra donna avvicinarsi a me
you saw another woman approaching me
prima ancora ch’io capissi e riscegliessi te
sooner than I realized and I had picked you again
tu...
you...
eri bella
were (so) beautiful
bella
beautiful
comunque bella
however beautiful

Anche quando un mattino tornasti vestita di pioggia
Even when one morning you came back dressed by rain
con lo sguardo stravolto da una notte d’amore
with your stare distressed by one-night stand (with someone else)
"Siediti qui. Non ti chiedo perdono perché tu sei un uomo"
‘(Please) Sit down here. I do not ask you forgiveness because you are a male’

Coi capelli bagnati
(You stayed here) With your wet hair
"So che capirai"
'I know that you’ll understand’
Con quei segni sul viso
(You stayed there) With those signs on your face
"Mi spiace da morire sai"
‘You know I am too sorry.’
Coi tuoi occhi arrossati
(You stayed here) With your redden eyes
mentre tu mentivi e mi dicevi che
while you lied and said to me that
ancora più di prima tu amavi me
still more than before, you were in love with me
tu...
You...

eri bella
were beautiful
bella
beautiful
comunque bella
beautiful anyway

Please tell me if there are some mistakes. Tnx
===Edited by Atars===

Tnx a lot to citlalli for the corrections

I could only spot a couple of tiny grammar mistakes, specially in the verb tenses... other than that I think your translation is quite good

Thanks citty
can u tell me which tenses I have to do?

What do you think about

quote on
the rage has poisoned your heart because
the rage had poisoned your heart because
you had seen another woman who was approaching me
you had seen another woman who was approaching me
sooner than I realized and I picked you again
sooner than I had realized and I had picked you again
quote off

Take your time for the answer. I wait (or 'I am waiting' ?!) tnxeeee

Buongiorno caro Atars yes, that verse you highlighted is exactly the one I meant, but I took all the lyrics again and this is the result:


con la sciarpa stretta al collo bianca come mai
(you were dressed by) the scarf tight the neck, (it was been) never so white
(you were dressed by) the scarf tight around your neck, (you had)* never been so white...
or maybe a bit more "free translation": the scarf tight around your neck, (you were) whiter than ever before
*in italian he means that the girl is looking white, isn't he? that's why I changed "it" to "you"...



l’ira avvelenava il cuore tuo perché
the rage has poisoned your heart because
the rage would poison your heart because/as/when/each time

tu vedevi un’altra donna avvicinarsi a me
you had seen another woman who was approaching me
you saw another woman approaching me



Con quei segni sul viso
(You’re stayed there) With those signs on your face
(You stayed here)... (the rest is fine)


I hope it helps!!

Originally Posted by Atars

Thanks citty
can u tell me which tenses I have to do?

What do you think about

quote on
the rage has poisoned your heart because
the rage had poisoned your heart because
you had seen another woman who was approaching me
you had seen another woman who was approaching me

In this case I'd say "the rage would poison your heart" because it's a repeated action, it happened more than once (at least that's how I understand it in italian... avvelenaba... but if I'm wrong please tell me )
... for the same reason, maybe it's possible to change the "because" for a temporal expression like as, when, each time, every time, etc.
... and I'd say "you saw another woman.." to express that it was something simultaneous.



sooner than I realized and I picked you again
sooner than I had realized and I had picked you again
And here: "Sooner than I realized and I had picked you again", because first "he picks her again" (past perfect) and only after does he realize what he did (simple past). It's just a sequence of events.

quote off

Take your time for the answer. I wait (or 'I am waiting' ?!) tnxeeee

Mhhh, I'm not really very good at explaining, so I hope I didn't confuse you

Originally Posted by citlalli

Buongiorno caro Atars yes, that verse you highlighted is exactly the one I meant, but I took all the lyrics again and this is the result:


con la sciarpa stretta al collo bianca come mai
(you were dressed by) the scarf tight the neck, (it was been) never so white
(you were dressed by) the scarf tight around your neck, (you had)* never been so white...
or maybe a bit more "free translation": the scarf tight around your neck, (you were) whiter than ever before
*in italian he means that the girl is looking white, isn't he? that's why I changed "it" to "you"...

In italian it only means that the scarf was never been so white

I hope it helps!!

Mhhh, I'm not really very good at explaining, so I hope I didn't confuse you

I suppose that I understand it
Thanks a lot citlalli, I'll make the errors correction (and go at the english school)

Originally Posted by Atars

In italian it only means that the scarf was never been so white

LOL... then back to "it"... forget about "you"... sorry ... I've learnt something too

Eh bene... faccio la tradutrice, no la profesoressa, ma se posso aiutare un pò lo farò con piacere

Originally Posted by Atars

In italian it only means that the scarf was never been so white

Hehe...little correction:
"... the scarf had never been so white."

Azz.... lo sapevo, lo sapevo.... ero troppo preso a scrivere i post dell'altro 3D per venire qui a correggere Domani correggerò tutta 'You were beautiful' del primo post secondo le tue preziosissime indicazioni.

Grazieee cit

=== Edited by Atars===
Now the song is correct. Tnx

La cinta rosa (Con il nastro rosa) - Lucio Battisti - 1980
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkL935oGADA
sorry, here the full version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKLzwJYi1Iw