Bella Ciao (pronounced “Bella Chow”) is an old folk song that served as an anthem against fascism during World War II from 1843-1945. The song was used by members of the Italian resistance as a symbol of their struggle against the puppet fascist government in Italy and its allies in Nazi Germany.
Although mostly known for being used in World War II, the song has much older origins. Its history traces back to the 19th century, when it was used by oppressed female workers in Northern Italy.
The word “Bella” means “pretty or beautiful”, and “Ciao” means “so long”. “Bella Ciao” translates to “Good Bye Beautiful”.
The original writer of the song is unknown.
As the name suggests, the song is in Italian language.
The song was first used in the late 19th century by women in Northern Italy.
These women were called Mondinas(Rice weeders) and they worked in rice-paddy fields.Their job was to plant the rice and remove weeds harming the rice fields.
Mondinas had to bend down to pull out weeds from the rice fields, while standing with their bare feet and knees in the water. They had to do this for several hours. This was a very tiring job and these women belonged to the poorest social classes, which left them with little choice and so they kept working under these inhumane conditions.
Despite, engaging in this tiring and exhausting job the Mondinas were paid very low wages and since they were poor they had no other choice but to keep working to feed their families.
This often led to riots and rebellions. And since there was an abundance of people ready to work as rice-weeders, workers protesting or demanding for more would be easily replaced by new ones.
‘Bella Ciao’ was sung by these women as an expression of their protest. They used the song as an anthem for their struggle.
The song remained popular with the Mondinas until the early 20th century, when the protests and riots finally paid off and the Mondinas’ demands were met.
This Mondinas’s version of the song had different lyrics than the one used by anti-fascists in Italy.
The song was very popular among Italian Partisans during World War II. During the war, resistance members fought for their freedom against Italian dictator Mussolini’s puppet regime and Nazi Occupation of Italy. The song served as an anthem for their cause.
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Una mattina mi son svegliato |
One morning I woke up |
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O partigiano porta mi via |
Oh partisan, carry me away, |
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E se io muoio da partigiano |
And if I die as a partisan |
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Mi seppellire lassù in montagna |
But bury me up in the mountain |
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E le genti che passeranno |
And the people who will pass by |
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È questo il fiore del partigiano |
This is the flower of the partisan |
Bella Ciao’ was first recorded in audio form by Italian singer Giovanna Daffini in 1962.
Since then it has been recorded in 32 other languages from artists all over the world.
Over the years, Bella Ciao has become more than just a song of resistance. It’s now regarded as an international anthem about freedom and rights of people.
The song is also a very popular among football fans, and has been sung by Italian, Portuguese and most recently by Brazilian fans during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
It recently regained popularity after it was featured in a Spanish T.V show called Money Heist (La casa de papel).
