The accordions move like caterpillars,
caressing drunk people,
and waiting for a disaster.
The prophets of the pint of red ale1
adjust their chair,
and don’t know what to do next.
Maria, Maria, Maria,
with a heart on your boots,
beneath the fireworks
that nobody wants to look at anymore.2
Maria, Maria, Maria,
summer is over now,
even though we’re drinking batida3
with some ice cubes in it.4
The sky is bursting, and you can’t believe5
that this time it’s not a war,
and we don’t even know where your home is.6
And sometimes you happen to speak again
that language that’s not taught,
and we don’t even know if your name is Maria.
Amen.
Some stars have fallen into the lake here,7
and the neckties have passed out,
but they’re going for another round [of drinks].
And tomorrow there will be the procession,
and you want to learn a song
that nobody’s going to sing.
Maria, Maria, Maria,
with too short of a skirt,
and crooked memories
that you’d like to drown.
Maria, Maria, Maria,
with no joy or fear,
you’ll unbuckle some belts
and send the money home.
If we look at you, we can’t believe
we see you smile at this land
that doesn’t even know if your name is Maria.
And many men will be smeared
by the lipstick they’ve given you as a gift,
and they too call you Maria,
and we too call you Maria.
Amen.
The accordions move like caterpillars,
caressing drunk people,
and waiting for a disaster.
1. For beer, media {medium} means about 40-50cL (US: 0.85-1.06 pint = 13.5-16.9 fl oz; UK: 0.70-0.88 pint = 14-17.6 fl oz).2. The song is set during the evening of a late-summer village fair in honor of some patron saint, with outdoor music, people drinking too much, and a fireworks display.
The woman fled from a war in her home country, and is now a prostitute in Italy, going by the name of Maria.3. Batida is any of a number of Brazilian cocktails made with cachaça (a spirit distilled from sugarcane), fruit juice (or coconut milk), and sugar.4. Lit. "with four pieces of ice".5. Lit. "it doesn’t seem real to you".6. Prostitutes come to Italy from many countries – mostly central Africa and Eastern Europe, but also from South America, northern Africa, and the Middle East (though migrants from those regions have different jobs, usually). So, just like the drunk people of the song, we don’t know where Maria is from – also because there have been so many wars around the world in recent decades.7. Van de Sfroos’ songs revolve around lake Como, northern Italy.