| Author | Topic: Add: Marianina | |
| dmcg | Posted - 12 Oct 04 - 11:20 am | |
O'er the ocean flies a merry fay, Soft her wings are as a cloud of day, As she passes all the blue waves say: Marianina, do not roam, Whither, whither is your home, Come and turn us into foam, Marianina, Marianina, Come, O come and turn us into foam!" O'er the fields she passes to and fro, By the cornstalks standing row by row, Poppies whisper as they see her go, "Marianina, little friend, Whither your footsteps wend, Come and teach us how to bend, Marianina, Marianina, Come and teach us how to bend." O'er the mountains when the day is done, When the clouds are gath'ring o'er the sun, While they, weeping, whisper one by one- "Marianina, come again, We have tried to dance in vain, Come and turn us into rain, Marianina, Marianina, Come and turn us into rain." Source: Singing Together, Summer 1968, BBC Publications Notes: Identified as 'Italian Folk Song' from J.S. Curwen's collection Folk Songs of Many Lands. Normally, I would not add this song as I do not have the Italian lyrics. However, as it has been mentioned in an earlier thread, I have done so. | ||
| Jon Freeman | Posted - 12 Oct 04 - 11:30 am | |
Thanks for that one Dave - I'm glad you added it. It was one of the first I learned from ST. I was going to query an accidental in the music but have double checked and see you are right. Funny I don't remember it doing that but it is clear my memory is playing tricks with me. | ||
| masato sakurai | Posted - 12 Oct 04 - 12:08 pm | |
Two sheet music editions with Italian, French & English lyrics are at American Memory: Marianina, [soprano or tenor] / by N. Ferri (New York: Schirmer, G., 1877) Marianina, [alto or baritone] / by N. Ferri (New York: Schirmer, G., 1877) There's another translation, titled "The Sea Breeze (Marianina)" (English words by Hervey White), in Jane Byrd Radcliffe-Whitehead, ed., Folk-Songs and Other Songs for Children (Boston: Oliver Ditson Company, 1903, pp. 136-37). | ||
| masato sakurai | Posted - 12 Oct 04 - 12:28 pm | |
Sound clip sung by Zanelli is here (Zanelli: Complete Baritone Recordings). | ||
| Jon Freeman | Posted - 12 Oct 04 - 01:10 pm | |
Nice clip - thanks. Must ask father later whether he has heard of Zanelli. | ||
| Guest Account |
Posted - 14 Oct 06 - 05:04 pm | |
From: chezw2optusnet.com.au the last line always starts : Come O Come.... the second and third verses are missing the ... O Come | ||
| Guest Account |
Posted - 14 Oct 06 - 05:16 pm | |
From: chezw@optusnet.com.au Oh pooies i stuffed up Got my email wrong SORRY and didn't ID the song I had not heard verse two before but it fits in well with the rest of the song about the fairy Marianina. But if the last line does not contain the "Come O Come".... then the music doesn't fit.. else it does. Thanks to whoever remembered the middle verse which i didn't even know about. We need to preserve this stuff for future generations. Chez | ||
| dmcg | Posted - 14 Oct 06 - 05:34 pm | |
You are absolutely right, chez. I had left out the second 'O Come' from the verses. I have fixed the database entry. All corrections are welcome! | ||
| Guest Account |
Posted - 20 Jan 07 - 12:58 pm | |
From: Sandra I learned this at school in Scotland in the Fifties and still remember it. Now I live in Italy where they sing the original version! | ||
| Guest Account |
Posted - 02 Apr 07 - 03:48 am | |
From: Maranina Hi all I just did a google on Marianina and found this site.. and I wish to thank all of those who have helped to put the music and lyrics on the site - I am actually named after the folksong farie, Marianina, my parents thought that would be a bit hard for most people to pronounce so they shortened it to Maranina, which most people still have difficulty saying. Such is life tho Thanks again everyone! Maranina K. | ||
| Lynn Thomson (guest) |
Posted - 16 Jul 07 - 01:12 pm | |
I, too, learned this in southwood primary school, glenrothes, fife scotland from ST. My recollection is that the line is "Whether 'would' your footsteps wend" and, if not, cannot quite get the line to sound right. However, I do have a tendency to make alterations to get what I think should be correct, but would be keen to know the thoughts of others. | ||
| Jon Freeman | Posted - 16 Jul 07 - 01:39 pm | |
Thanks, it should have been "whither would your footsteps wend". I have corrected the song database entry. | ||
| Carolyn Forte (guest) |
Posted - 26 Sep 07 - 05:11 am | |
Hi everyone. We sang this song in English with our singing group down here in SW Australia, and in its 3 parts it's such a delightful song. Does anyone have the Italian words? Would so love to hear it in Italian. I listened to the Zanelli clip but it didn't seem to be the same song. Thanks | ||
| toddc50@yaho.co.uk (guest) |
Posted - 27 Apr 08 - 05:22 pm | |
We used to sing Marriannina at school in the early sixties. There were nineteen of us in the school and we used to belt out this song at Christmas etc. Our schoolmistress loved it and and got carried away drowning us out on the piano backing us Les Dawson style.I sometimes sing the bits I can remember to my grandchildren.Its nice to be reaquainted with the original lyrics. | ||
| Tom Veale | Posted - 02 May 08 - 11:47 am | |
I learned this song at Primary (Junior) school in Lismore, Co Waterford, Ireland in the fifties and like the previous guest we used to belt it out at school concerts. Great to finally find it and get the words I had forgotten, thanks. TV | ||
| Jon Freeman | Posted - 02 May 08 - 11:52 am | |
It's nice to see others remember learning some of these songs in school and enjoyed singing them. | ||
| M. Swainston (guest) |
Posted - 26 May 08 - 09:48 pm | |
I also learned this song at school - Parkstone Grammar School for Girls in Poole, Dorset - sometime between 1970-77. It's amazing to think I remembered enough words to google it and find this site. I wish the students I teach would remember things for a few weeks never mind 30+ years. | ||
| Marianino (guest) |
Posted - 22 Jun 08 - 05:00 am | |
I remember this song because the dinosaurs from my family sang all this folk italian stuff in the family parties when I was a boy (Such as Quel mazzolin di fiori for 3 voices! hahahahha). The lyrics in english have nothing to do with the italian. That's maybe why it remained popular there. In italian it is just about a broken heart: Tante volte mi dicesti T’amerò sino alla morte Vò divider la tua sorte Nella gioia e nel dolor. Ah! Crudel tu m’ingannasti, E donasti ad altro il cor. Della fede a me promessa Tu tradisti i giuramenti E scordasti i di ridenti Dell’ebbrezza, dell’ amor. Ah! Perchè tu m’ingannasti E donasti ad altro il cor? Se dal duol trafitto opreso, Tu morire mi vedrai, Non un’altro troverai Più costante e più fedel Ah! Perchè tu m’ingannasti Perchè fosti si crudel? | ||
| dmcg | Posted - 22 Jun 08 - 07:23 am | |
Thanks a lot, Marianino. I tend to avoid adding English versions of songs from other languages for exactly that reason: I rarely know enough to say what the connection between the original and the English version is. Having information about that original is in many ways what the site is about. To all readers: Personally, I'd also like to hear comments like those from Marianino about where any of these songs are heard 'in the wild.' | ||
| tronixx | Posted - 05 Nov 08 - 06:24 pm | |
I remember learning this in about 1960. One of my favourites, I attended Dormers Wells, in Southall at the time. | ||
| Jon Freeman | Posted - 05 Nov 08 - 10:45 pm | |
I was in Ysgol Glanwydden when I learned it in 1968. | ||
| Lorna (guest) |
Posted - 12 Jun 09 - 11:42 pm | |
I learned this song in Primary school in Lethbridge, Alberta Canada. My Grade 6 teacher was also the Principal and loved to have us sing songs like this in our school productions. Lorna | ||
| Nucular (guest) |
Posted - 13 Sep 09 - 08:52 pm | |
I have only ever heard the song sung by my mother; I think she may have originally learnt it at school in 1950s Kettering, England. Does anyone know anything about the Marianina to whom the English words refer? Some posters above have called her a "fairy", and the lyrics agree she is a "merry fay". Is there any other source for a fairy or other supernatural creature named Marianina? I also wonder about the source of the English lyrics (I'm especially interested that the Italian words bear no resemblance). Masato Sakurai above links to a French equivalent to the English words, but there's no indication as to which came first. There's also a mention in his post of "English words by Hervey White" - was this a whole-cloth invention, or a translation or edit of an older version? | ||
| Nancy B. (guest) |
Posted - 17 Sep 09 - 08:17 am | |
Thanks for posting Marianina. I learned this at St. Paul's Methodist Primary & Junior High School (now St. Paul's College) in Freeport, GBI, Bahamas in the 60's. I'll have to point fellow choir members here for a walk down memory lane. | ||
| jimhilbe (guest) |
Posted - 28 Jan 10 - 01:07 pm | |
I attended St. Joseph's school in Upland, California 1957 - 1959. Our teachers were all immigrants from Dublin. One of them taught us this song, and we sang it several times each week during the seventh grade. I always assumed it was an Irish song, now I see it came from Italy but was widely sung in the UK. | ||
| JP Skertchly (guest) |
Posted - 04 Mar 10 - 03:35 am | |
Hello. I was at Ravensdale School in Mickleover in Derby in the Midlands , UK. My Dad taught at the junior school and when I started at the infants school , aged 4 / 5 ( around 1973 ),the infants finished at 3.30 in the afternoon and the Junior school at 4 or 4.30. I would walk down to the junior school to wait for my Dad finishing. Often I would wait outside the Junior school hall , watching the choir practising through the hall doors. Led by the Legendary Headmaster ,( who really was like a father figure to all the children and a wonderful , real gentleman ), Mr Warren , the Ravensdale choir was something of a legend in itself and well known in choir circles. I remember finding this song completely haunting and wonderful back then and , though I never actually got to sing it , I remember all the words and that haunting tune , to this day , from standing outside that school hall listening to the choir 37+ years ago , mesmerised by this wonderful song. Jeremy Skertchly. | ||
| mastercrow (guest) |
Posted - 29 Mar 10 - 04:00 pm | |
does anybody know the background or culture of Marianina since I cannot find any reference to it on all the sites and i need this information for a school project. | ||
| Jon Freeman | Posted - 30 Mar 10 - 07:46 am | |
I've tried before without success. This time I have found a couple of pages saying It is also legend that Hecate is the Mother of Marianina, who rose for a time to become Marianina, goddess of the sea.but they seem to be using the same source. Hecate is "well known" but I've found no other reference linking her to Marianina or other reference pointing to Matianina being a sea goddess. | ||
| caustin7th (guest) |
Posted - 14 May 10 - 04:35 am | |
I learnt this song at William Knibb Memorial High School in Jamaica in 1979/80. Our music teacher Mr. Tracey was very enthusiastic. I don't know why but it has always stayed with me. I was glad to get the lyrics when I googled the first line. I would like to know where I can hear an actual performance of the song | ||
| carlaki (guest) |
Posted - 22 Jun 10 - 07:47 pm | |
I remember singing this song along to the BBC radio programme Time and Tune back in the late seventies, I have always loved the melody and it has a profound calming effect on my cat, in fact she comes running when i hum the chorus. took me ages to find info about the song again and i thank everyone for the lovely memories!!! | ||
| vicki (guest) |
Posted - 28 Jun 10 - 12:03 am | |
My daughter is singing Marianina for an exam and we were wondering also about the backgroud to the words. The melody I also remember from many years ago | ||
| Annie Clarke (guest) |
Posted - 20 Sep 10 - 01:38 pm | |
This song was taught by a teacher in my north London primary school in the early 60's. You could here a class singing it in the hall, and I always liked the tune, but never learnt the words as I was in a different class. Strange finding out about it after all this time! | ||
| Noni Peters (guest) |
Posted - 04 Mar 11 - 01:16 am | |
I woke up singing this song's tune the other day and had to keep humming it until the words came to me. Marianina..yea ! That was it. Spent an hour or so googling it and found a recording. But your page has enlightened me a lot. So thanks everyone. I've become obsessed with it all week trying to remember when I sang it. It was in Liverpool in the 60's I think..at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall in the school choir. Wonder why it's come back to me now after all these years. Glad it has tho'. :) | ||
| Jane (guest) |
Posted - 29 Mar 11 - 04:40 pm | |
This song is available on YouTube, sung in Welsh http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o45KVvZlkPY | ||
| Jane (guest) |
Posted - 02 Apr 11 - 09:40 am | |
Marianina appears to be a personification of the sea breeze or the wind. | ||
| carocats (guest) |
Posted - 16 Jul 11 - 05:49 am | |
My mother used to sing this as a lullaby to send us to sleep when my brother and I were small, and I learned it when I ws very young. I was born in 1947 and grew up in Surrey, England, and the song certainly predates the early 50's, as I think my mum had learned it long before I was born. We liked it so much we often used to ask her to sing it. | ||
| peter (guest) |
Posted - 08 Oct 11 - 02:59 am | |
I also sung this in East London in the 1950's. Singing in school class was very usual then. | ||
| Trish (guest) |
Posted - 16 Oct 11 - 05:19 pm | |
I, too sang this in school in the 50's in Singing together on the radio. Lovely memories! | ||
| Julia (guest) |
Posted - 25 Nov 11 - 10:27 pm | |
I remember singing this in the school choir in the London area in the mid 1960s. I think that in verse 1 it was 'hither' not 'thither', which may not be grammatically correct. | ||
| Val McG. (guest) |
Posted - 03 Jan 12 - 06:29 pm | |
I was in the school choir in the early sixties and this was one of two songs we sang for a competition. The other song was about a 'smart frog with a green waistcoat.' The school was South County Junior in West Bridgford, Nottingham and Mr. Angrave was the rather scary Headmaster at the time. | ||
| hazel (guest) |
Posted - 13 Jan 12 - 12:28 am | |
I also learned this in Junior School in Speke, Liverpool, many many years ago! I remember our music teacher conducting us in a very ''skippy'' manner, conveying the lightness of the tune & the happiness it gave. Hazel. | ||
| Christy-Lyn (guest) |
Posted - 18 Jan 12 - 06:51 pm | |
Thanks so much for the information, everyone! My sister and I recorded ourselves singing this song the other day, and I just posted it on youtube. Your site was very helpful for information on the song! I posted the URL for this webpage on my video description :) If you would like to watch us singing it in English, take a look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OuTmCKB_F0 Oh, and if anyone has more information about Marianina the fairy, please let me know! Thanks so much, Christy-Lyn xx | ||
| Jon Freeman | Posted - 18 Jan 12 - 08:11 pm | |
Lovely singing. Thanks Christy-Lyn | ||
| Kenneth (guest) |
Posted - 30 Mar 12 - 07:42 am | |
Wow. Life is strange. I woke up one morning humming this song and thought to myself that I should try to google this song since I have forgotten the text. Voila... This site popped up out of nowhere. With tears in my eyes, read the whole page and comments. Sentimental. Yes. Don't care though. This song has stuck with me since I learnt it in Jamaica at St. Catherine Primary School in the mid 70's. I would like to extend my gratitude to all of you for sharing your thoughts. It's nice to see that we all have something in common and wish you all a wonderfull and happy life, knowing that this song has made us even more complete as human beings. Sorry if i got carried away. It's early in the morning, it's spring and the sun is shining. Life is good.... /kenneth | ||
| sallyst.john@hotmail.com (guest) |
Posted - 11 Nov 12 - 05:13 am | |
Unlike most of you, I learned "Marianina" as a child in elementary school in the US. The version I learned must be a closer translation of the Italian, because it is simply about a broken heart. I recall very little of the song and so was looking here to see if I could find the words to the version I knew. I had heard Christy-Lynn on You-Tube, and didn't recognize any of the lyrics except the refrain Marianina. Does anyone know the version I mean, begins with Where October leaves are falling... by an ancient lemon (?) Marianina oh Marianina, Marianina wait for me, beneath the lemon tree | ||
| Alan (guest) |
Posted - 12 Nov 12 - 03:22 pm | |
I learned this song at infants school in 1958-61. It may have been one from the BBC radio for schools broadcast. I never knew it's meaning then (too young) but imagined Marianina to be a wind. I now understand she was a fairy. I like the wind better. :-) | ||