Le nuvole: 'A çimma - Boiled Stuffed Veal

Ti t'adesciàe 'nsce l'èndegu du matin ch'à luxe a l'à 'n pè 'n tera e l'àtru in mà ti t'ammiàe a ou spègiu de 'n tiànnin ou cè s'ammia a ou spègiu da ruzà    Ti sveglierai sull'indaco del mattino    quando la luce ha un piede in terra    e l' altro in mare    ti guarderai allo specchio di un tegamino    il cielo si guarda allo specchio della rugiada ti mettiâe ou brûgu rèdennu'nte 'n cantùn che se d'à cappa a sgùggia 'n cuxin-a stria a xeùa de cuntà 'e pàgge che ghe sùn 'a cimma a l'è za pinn-a a l'è za cùxia    metterai la scopa di saggina usata in un angolo   che se dalla cappa scivola in cucina la strega   a forza di contare le paglie che ci sono   la cima è già piena è già cucita Cè serèn tèra scùa carne tènia nu fàte nèigra nu turnà dùa    Cielo sereno terra scura    carne tenera non diventare nera    non ritornare dura Bell'oueggè strapunta de tùttu bun prima de battezàlu 'ntou prebuggiun cun dui aguggiuìn dritu 'n pùnta de pè da sùrvia 'n zù fitu ti 'a punziggè    Bel guanciale materasso di ogni ben di Dio    prima di battezzarla nelle erbe aromatiche    con due grossi aghi dritti in punta di piedi    da sopra a sotto svelto la pungerai àia de lùn-a vègia de ciaèu de nègia ch'ou cègu ou pèrde 'a tèsta l'àse ou sentè oudù de mà misciòu de pèrsa lègia cos'àtru fa cos'àtru dàghe a ou cè    aria di luna vecchia di chiarore di nebbia    che il chierico perde la testa e l'asino il sentiero    odore di mare mescolato a maggiorana leggera    cos'altro fare cos'altro dare al cielo Cè serèn tèra scùa carne tènia nu fàte nèigra nu turnà dùa e 'nt'ou nùme de Maria tùtti diài da sta pùgnatta anène via    Cielo sereno terra scura    carne tenera non diventare nera    non ritornare dura    e nel nome di Maria    tutti i diavoli da questa pentola    andate via Poi vegnan a pigiàtela i càmè te lascian tùttu ou fùmmu d'ou toèu mestè tucca a ou fantin à prima coutelà mangè mangè nu sèi chi ve mangià    Poi vengono a prendertela i camerieri    ti lasciano tutto il fumo del tuo mestiere    tocca allo scapolo la prima coltellata    mangiate mangiate non sapete chi vi manger Cè serèn tèra scùa carne tènia nu fàte nèigra nu turnà dùa e 'nt'ou nùme de Maria tùtti diài da sta pùgnatta anène via.    Cielo sereno terra scura    carne tenera non diventare nera    non ritornare dura    e nel nome di Maria    tutti i diavoli da questa pentola    andate via A çimma © 1990 Fabrizio De André/Ivano Fossati/Mauro Pagani In "A çimma," a cook explains how a classic Genovese dish is made. A piece of meat usually taken from the stomach or breast of the young calf is folded and sewn on three sides to make a pocket that is then filled with many ingredients: innards, peas, eggs, cheese, spices, etc. The final side is sewn shut and the meat is boiled carefully in a broth for several hours, punctured with a needle from time to time to prevent the rupturing of the pocket as the ingredients expand. Traditionally, one must take care to prevent trouble from witches and devils who might be attracted by the intoxicating smells. And once done, the tradition is for the servants to remove the glorious cima, leaving the cook out of the picture with only the steam from the now empty pot. Also traditionally, a bachelor makes the first cut. The cook, with a touch of bitterness, tells everyone to eat because you never know who will be out to eat you.

You will wake up in the indigo of morning when the light has one foot on land and the other in the sea. You'll look at yourself in the mirror of a frying pan, the sky looks at itself in the mirror of rust. You will put the well-used sorghum broom in a corner so that, if from the stove hood a witch slips into the kitchen due to her counting the straws that are there, the veal is already stuffed and already sewn. Clear sky, dark earth, tender meat don’t become black, don’t come out tough. Beautiful pillow, mattress of every good of God, before baptizing it in the aromatic herbs, with two huge straight needles, on tiptoe, from above to below quick you’ll prick it. Air of full moon, of glimmer of fog, when the clergyman loses his head and the donkey the path, smell of the sea mixed with light marjoram, what else to make, what else to give to heaven? Clear sky, dark earth, tender meat don’t become black, don’t come out tough, and in the name of Maria all you devils from this pot go away. Then the house servants come to take it out for you, they leave to you all the steam of your expertise. It’s the bachelor’s turn, the first cut - eat, eat, you don’t know who will eat you. Clear sky, dark earth, tender meat don’t become black, don’t come out tough, and in the name of Maria all you devils from this pot go away. English translation © 2014 Dennis Criteser It took six years after the tremendous success of Creuza de mä for De André to release his next studio album, Le nuvole (The Clouds). In the meantime, he and Mauro Pagani explored several avenues of musical collaboration which did not come to fruition. De André had this to say about Le nuvole: "I realized that people are just pissed off, and since Le nuvole is a symbol of this dissatisfaction, the transference, the intermediary for this general discontent, I would say that the album was welcomed almost as a banner, like an emblem of the anger in the face of a nation that is going to the dogs, and certainly not through any fault of the citizens." Additionally, Mauro Pagani said the album was a fantastic description of Italy in the 1980s, with parallels to Europe in the early 1800s: "Italy in the early 1980s was like Europe in 1815: the Congress of Vienna, the fall of the Napoleonic empire, the sharing of the goods among the winning powers, social classes built on wealth instead of aristocracy, a society of fake Christianity . . ." The title of and inspiration for the album came from the comedy of the same name by Aristophanes, whom De André greatly admired.

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