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C' la luna mezzo mare
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Wikipedia article
"'Luna mezz'o mare'" (Moon amid the sea) is a comic Sicilian song with worldwide popularity, traditionally styled as a brisk tarantella. The song portrays a mother-daughter "coming of age" exchange consisting of various comic, and sometimes sexual, innuendos. It is frequently performed at Italian-American wedding receptions and other festive occasions. Hit versions have included "'Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)'" by Rudy Valle and "'Lazy Mary (Luna Mezzo Mare)'" by Lou Monte.
Origin
Related music and lyrics appeared as early as 1835, in the art song "La Danza" (Tarantella Napoletana) by Gioachino Rossini and Carlo Pepoli. By 1871 in Italy, bawdier versions were circulating. In 1927, New York City's Italian Book Company arranged and recorded a version by Sicilian sailor Paolo Citorello (sometimes spelled Citarella), and an American court upheld their copyright in 1928.
Popularity
Since the first recording in 1927, the song has proliferated with different titles and lyrics, both in English and in several variants of Italian. Hit recordings in the United States have included "Oh! Ma-Ma!" by Rudy Valle (1938, peaked at No. 8) and "Lazy Mary" by Lou Monte (1958, peaked at No. 12). Monte's version was initially banned from British broadcasts for undesirable innuendo, but has been played to a family-filled baseball stadium during the seventh-inning stretch at almost every New York Mets home game since the mid-1990s, as the result of a fan survey. The humorous lyrics center around a young woman wondering about marriage with various tradesmen (butcher, fisherman, fireman, etc.), ensuring the song's sustained popularity at Italian wedding receptions, including the opening scene of 'The Godfather' (1972). In early 2022 the song was used as part of a popular TikTok trend where creators would use the song showing things in their home that just make sense while making a stereotypical Italian hand gesture to the beat of the song.
See also
* Music of Sicily
Notable recordings
The song has been notably recorded with the following performers and titles:
* 1927: Paolo Citorello, "Luna mezzo mare" original copyrighted version
* 1929: Paolo Citorello, "Mamma a cu m'addari"
* 1930: Paolo Citorello, "Mi vulissi maritari"
* 1930s: Paolo Dones, "A luna 'mmenzu 'u mari"
* 1928: Rosina Trubia Gioiosa, "Mi vogghiu maritari" Brunswick E26617-E26618 10-in. 2/23/1928 Mi vogghiu maritari Rosina Trubia Gioiosa Female vocal solo, with orchestra.
* 1930s: Silvia Coruzzolo, "A luna mezzo o mare"
* 1930s: I Diavoli, "La luna in mezzo al mare (A luna mmezzu 'u mari)"
* 1938: Rudy Valle, "Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)" #8 U.S. peak in 'Your Hit Parade'; not to be confused with the folk ballad, "The Butcher's Boy"
* 1938: Dick Robertson, "Oh, Ma, Ma (The Butcher Boy)"
* 1938: George Hall, "Oh! Ma Ma (The Butcher Boy)"
* 1938: Gracie Fields, "Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)"
* 1938: The Andrews Sisters, "Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)"
* 1938: Glenn Miller, "Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy) / Marie"
* 1940: Trio Lescano, "La luna in mezzo al mare"
* 1946 Rose Marie, "Chena A Luna"
* 1951: Louis Prima, "Zooma Zooma"
* 1951: Dean Martin, "Luna mezzo mare"
* 1958: Lou Monte, "Lazy Mary (Luna mezzo mare)" #12 U.S. peak in 'Billboard'; not to be confused with the nursery rhyme "Lazy Mary, Will You Get Up"
* 1960: The Mills Brothers, "Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)"
* 1972: Louis Prima, "Che la luna"
* 1973: Salix Alba, "Oh Mama"
* 1983: The Star Sisters, "Oh, ma-ma! (The butcher boy)"
* 1999: Frank Simms, "Luna mezzo mare"
* 2005: Patrizio Buanne, "Luna mezz'o mare"
* 2015: Famiglia Amica Valenza, "C'e la luna mezz'o mare"
References
Category:1927 songs
Category:1958 singles
Category:Neapolitan songs
Category:Novelty songs
Category:Songs about marriage
Category:The Andrews Sisters songs
Category:Italian language in the United States
Category:Music of Sicily
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