Procol Harum

Beyond
the Pale

Storia di una Bottiglia

(A Rum Tale)

Storia di una Bottiglia		Tale of a Bottle
Lei tira i miei sogni		She takes my dreams
Per farne realtà		To make them come true
Pavimenta d'argento		She spreads silver on the streets
Le strade dei bar		That lead to the bar
Voglio un posto nel sole		I want a place in the sun
Dove il buio non c'è		Where there isn't any darkness
Mi riparo dal mondo,		I'll shelter from the world
E mi dedico a me		And devote myself to me.
E vendo la casa		I'll sell my house
Per andar via da qua		To get away from here
Se nessuno la vuole		If nobody wants it
Brucerò la citta		I'll burn down the town
Mi affitterò un aeroplano		I'm hiring an aeroplane
Nel dipinto di blu		Into the painted blue
Venderò il mio racconto		I'll sell my story
E non scriverò più		Then I won't write any more
Mi compro un biglietto		I'm buying a ticket
Per dove non so		Where to, I don't know
Non ho preso un ritorno		I didn't take a return
Perché non tornerò		I'm not coming back
Non nascondo più niente		I'm not hiding anything any more.
Nei segreti che ho		In the secrets I've got
Ho una strada da fare		There's a road to travel
Quella strada farò		I'm going to take that road.

(These new words for the Italian A Rum Tale are by Mimmo Locasciulli from the 1998 Mercury album Il Futuro. The writing credit is Brooker / Locasciulli, with nary a mention of Reid, although Locasciulli follows KR's intentions far more closely than other Italian re-writers have done: despite this fidelity to the original text it seems that the mystery and angst of the song have evaporated somewhat.

The album includes Italianisations of several more songs by classic writers: The Future by Leonard Cohen, Powderfinger by Neil Young, Road to Nowhere by David Byrne (Talking Heads), It's Money That I Love by Randy Newman, Series of Dreams by Bob Dylan, Hang Down Your Head by Tom Waits, How to Be Dumb by Elvis Costello, and Heaven Stood Still by Willie de Ville, alongside a couple of originals.

(Words kindly sent by Antonio Costa Barbé and translated into English for 'Beyond the Pale' by Amelia Wisloch: thanks!)

Other non-English versions of Procol Harum songs