Sei chic – Bilingual Lyrics Italian/English

• By: Fred Buscaglione

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the Italian language and culture through Fred Buscaglione's "Sei chic." This song offers a glimpse into mid-20th century Italian sentiment, using elegant language to describe a woman whose chic appearance belies a vacant personality. Learning this song can provide insights into Italian adjectives for describing people and nuanced expressions of admiration mixed with critique.

[English]

You are beautiful, you are chic

Fascinating, but

You really should never speak

You are empty, you are snobbish

Unproductive, you

You are decorative and nothing more

You know how to walk

Swaying your hips softly

You always yawn

You never care about anything

You are beautiful, you are chic

Evanescent, but you

You are the woman I would like to kiss

...

You are beautiful, you are chic

Fascinating, but

You really should never speak

You are empty, you are snobbish

Unproductive, you

You are decorative and nothing more

You know how to walk

Swaying your hips softly

You always yawn

You never care about anything

You are beautiful, you are chic

Evanescent, but you

You are the woman I would like to kiss

To love, to marry

You are chic

...

[Italian]

Sei bella, sei chic

Affascinante, ma

Non dovresti proprio mai parlar

Sei vuota, sei snob

Inconcludente, tu

Sei decorativa e niente più

Sai camminare

Dondolando i fianchi mollemente

Sbadigli sempre tu

Non t'interessi mai di niente

Sei bella, sei chic

Evanescente, ma tu

Sei la donna che vorrei baciar

Sei bella, sei chic

Affascinante, ma

Non dovresti proprio mai parlar

Sei vuota, sei snob

Inconcludente, tu

Sei decorativa e niente più

Sai camminare

Dondolando i fianchi mollemente

Sbadigli sempre tu

Non t'interessi mai di niente

Sei bella, sei chic

Evanescente, ma tu

Sei la donna che vorrei baciar

Amar, sposar

Sei chic

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
bella /ˈbɛl.la/ A1	adjective - beautiful
chic /ʃiːk/ A2	adjective - stylish and fashionable
affascinante /af.fa.ʃiˈnan.te/ B1	adjective - fascinating
vuota /ˈvwɔ.ta/ B1	adjective - empty
snob /snɒb/ B2	adjective - having an exaggerated respect for high social status
decorativa /de.ko.raˈti.va/ B2	adjective - decorative
camminare /kam.miˈna.re/ A2	verb - to walk
dondolare /don.doˈla.re/ B1	verb - to sway or swing
sbadiglio /sbaˈdiʎ.ʎo/ B2	noun - yawn
interessare /in.te.reˈsa.re/ B1	verb - to interest
donna /ˈdɔn.na/ A1	noun - woman
baciarsi /baˈtʃar.si/ B2	verb - to kiss each other
amar /aˈmar/ B1	verb - to love
sposare /spoˈza.re/ B1	verb - to marry

Key Grammar Structures

• Sei bella, sei chic

  ➔ Use of the verb "essere" (to be) in the present tense.

  ➔ "Sei" is the second-person singular present tense form of "essere". It's used to describe a quality or characteristic of the subject (you).

• Non dovresti proprio mai parlar

  ➔ Use of the conditional tense with a modal verb (dovere) and adverbs of frequency.

  ➔ "Dovresti" is the conditional form of "dovere" (should/ought to). "Proprio mai" emphasizes the negative frequency (never). The sentence expresses a suggestion or a polite command.

• Sai camminare

  ➔ Use of the verb "sapere" (to know how to) followed by an infinitive.

  ➔ "Sai" is the second-person singular present tense form of "sapere". When followed by an infinitive, it means "to know how to".

• Dondolando i fianchi mollemente

  ➔ Use of the gerund form of a verb (dondolare) to describe the manner of walking, modified by an adverb (mollemente).

  ➔ "Dondolando" is the gerund of "dondolare" (to sway, to swing). It describes how she walks. "Mollemente" is an adverb meaning "lazily" or "loosely".

• Non t'interessi mai di niente

  ➔ Use of a reflexive verb (interessarsi) in the negative form with adverbs of frequency and indefinite pronouns.

  ➔ "T'interessi" is the reflexive form of "interessare" (to interest) in the second-person singular. "Mai" means "never", and "di niente" means "of nothing" or "about anything".

• Sei la donna che vorrei baciar

  ➔ Use of the conditional tense (vorrei) with a relative clause introduced by "che".

  ➔ "Vorrei" is the conditional form of "volere" (to want). "Che" introduces a relative clause that describes "la donna".