Calypso ay! Calypso ay! Calypso italiano!
Calypso si! Calypso si! Calypso siciliano!
Do you know that a little wind of madness
blew throughout all of Italy?
In the streets, people dance wildly
to tunes that came from the West Indies.
Calypso ay! Calypso ay! Calypso italiano!
Calypso si! Calypso there! Calypso siciliano!
Mothers doing laundry
wear vividly colored scarves,
calling out in a placid tone:
"My doudou! My bird of the islands!"
Calypso ay! Calypso ay! Calypso italiano!
Calypso si! Calypso there! Calypso siciliano!
The suitor who wants to please his piccina
no longer comes to play for her on the mandolin.
She prefers to barcarolles
the beats of Creole songs.
Calypso ay! Calypso ay! Calypso italiano!
Calypso si! Calypso si! Calypso siciliano!
But one day this little wind of madness
will blow far away from Italy
carrying to distant islands
a thousand serenades from Neapolitan women.
Calypso ay! Calypso ay! Calypso italiano!
Calypso si! Calypso oh! Si-ci-li-a-no!