Bella Ciao – English Lyrics

• By: Becky G

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Una mattina I woke up early

O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao

Una mattina I woke up early

E ho trovato l'invasor

O partigiano, take me with you

O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao

O partigiano, take me with you

Ché mi sento di morir

E se io muoio da partigiano

O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao

E se io muoio da partigiano

Tu mi devi seppellir

E seppellire upon the mountain

O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao

E seppellire upon the mountain

Sotto l'ombra di un bel fior

(Ah, yeah)

...

(Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao)

Tutte le genti che passeranno

O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao

Tutte le genti che passeranno

Mi diranno: "che bel fior"

Eres the flower del partigiano

O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao

Eres the flower del partigiano

Morto per la libertà

Eres the flower del partigiano

Morto per la libertà

Hey, eh-eh

Hey, eh, eh

Ooh-oh

Lah, nah-nah-nah, oh, oh-ooh

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
partigiano /partiˈdʒano/ B2	noun - partisan, a member of a resistance movement
invasor /invɑˈsor/ B1	noun - invader, someone who enters a place forcibly
seppellire /sepelˈlire/ B2	verb - to bury, to inter
montagna /monˈtaɲɲa/ A2	noun - mountain
fior /fior/ A1	noun - flower
libertà /liberˈta/ A2	noun - freedom
morir /moˈrir/ A2	verb - to die
sentire /senˈtire/ A2	verb - to feel, to hear
passeranno /passeˈrano/ B1	verb - they will pass
genti /ˈdʒenti/ A2	noun - people
bel /bel/ A1	adjective - beautiful
ombra /ˈombra/ A2	noun - shadow
trovato /troˈvato/ A2	verb - found
mattina /matˈtina/ A1	noun - morning
woke /woʊk/ A1	verb - past tense of wake, to stop sleeping

Key Grammar Structures

• Una mattina I woke up early

  ➔ Past Simple Tense

  ➔ Used to describe a completed action in the past, e.g., "I **woke** up".

• E ho trovato l'invasor

  ➔ Past Perfect Tense (Italian: Passato Prossimo)

  ➔ Describes a completed action in the recent past, using auxiliary verbs and past participles, e.g., "**ho trovato**".

• O partigiano, take me with you

  ➔ Imperative Mood

  ➔ Used to give commands or make requests, e.g., "**take** me with you".

• Ché mi sento di morir

  ➔ Subject Pronoun + Verb + Infinitive

  ➔ Basic sentence structure in Italian expressing feeling or the desire to do something, "I feel to die" (figuratively meaning "I feel like I am dying")

• E se io muoio da partigiano

  ➔ Conditional Clause (Type 1)

  ➔ Expresses a likely or possible situation and its consequence. Uses "se" + present tense, followed by a main clause. "If I **die** as a partisan..."

• Tu mi devi seppellir

  ➔ Modal Verb + Infinitive

  ➔ Expresses obligation or necessity. "You must **bury** me".

• E seppellire upon the mountain

  ➔ Infinitive + Prepositional Phrase

  ➔ Used to express the action and the location. "To **bury** ... upon the mountain".

• Tutte le genti che passeranno

  ➔ Relative Clause

  ➔ Provides additional information about the subject "Tutte le genti" (all the people) who are going to pass. "All the people **who will pass**"

• Eres the flower del partigiano

  ➔ Verb to be + Noun, emphatic use

  ➔ Emphasizes the subject's identity or characteristic. "You **are** the flower..."