Talk:Funiculì, Funiculà

Meaning of Title
The article doesn't actually give a translation of the title. Presumably it has something to do with "funicular", but what's the difference between "Funiculì" and "Funiculà"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.81.140.128 (talk) 12:03, 13 July 2010 (UTC)
 * "Funiculì" doesn't mean anything, it's a bit of a word twist. I believe the rithm of this song is a kind of Tarantella, and it is quite typical of southern songs to have this assonant choruses alternating endings in "i" and "a" (for example). Most often the other sounds don't make much sense, as in scat singing. It is already a lot that most of the word is even close to "funicolare" (or "funiculare" as a Neopolitan would say) 118.90.77.81 (talk) 10:02, 25 September 2011 (UTC)

Translation error
I believe the person who made the translation from the Neapolitan dialect into English made a mistake. In the original it's written La capa vota, vota, attuorno, attuorno, which was translated as "The empty empty summit, around, around". However, the word vota means "to turn", not "empty". The verse should be translated like this: "The summit turns around, turns around" or something similar. The same error was made in the Spanish page for this article, probably because the person(s) who wrote it simply translated directly from the English version.--Rikaris (talk) 02:48, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

Venetian hotel las vegas comercial
has the song playing continuessly over and over again on their advertisements.. approved or dismissed? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.234.144.226 (talk) 19:59, 23 November 2009 (UTC)

b==Translate?== May someone translate the lyrics? --Abdull 21:19, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

It happens that the lyrics are not in Italian, but in Neapolitan. It is completely different: Speaking for me (Italian native speaker, but from the north), I can't understand a word. I actually find Spanish closer to Italian than most of Italian dialects. Maybe we need a bit more of stress on this? Spree85 (talk) 15:34, 27 February 2009 (UTC)    A couple of things. Italian is Italian....just like English is English. If you are in the South of the US, you will detect an accent and will probably hear a few or more examples of "dialect" such as y'all or 'I'm fixin to..." But not enough to impede your understanding of what is being said.   Folks in Naples speak Italian. The lyrics translation is incorrect....

Funiculi actually means butt. It does not.

MIDI removed
Why was the MIDI file of the song's melody that I submitted removed? - Conrad Devonshire 01:33, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
 * WP:COPYRIGHT issues at a guess. FlagSteward (talk) 16:50, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

Capri?
Can any weight be given to this Wikipedia article over this version of the song's history:

The history of the name of the song Finiculi Finicula originates from the Isle of Capri off the coast of Sorrento. In the early 1950's in the main port of Capri the Italian Government built a Tram that climbed the hill to the city of Capri. It was for passengers and supplies. It is not a tram in the classical sense. It operates on the ground and climbs the hill. It is a bit bumpy but not bad at all to ride. However the Italian population would not ride it as they were afraid of it. Therefore it sat idle most of the time. So the local government hired a advertising company to promote the use of the tram. They tried many approaches and none seemed to work. They then had the song written [Finiculi Finicula] that became world famous. The experiment was successful and today the tram is used by everyone.

This is was the Italian tour guides are telling people on Capri. Is there any merit to it? This particular version was found at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/GEN-ITALIAN/2000-08/0967567788.
 * Well if that wasn't the worst piece of "information" I've ever heard, then I don't know what was! The song was written before 1950, irregardless of what an Italian tour guide has told you or is publishing on the internet. Just remember, not everything on the internet is true and reliable :) Chrisch 05:00, 28 October 2006 (UTC)
 * I have no personal stake in one claim over another. That said, I think that, until more (preferably contemporary) sources are cited in this article, the two stories have about equal merit.
 * Doesn't the incident of the Richard Strauss lawsuit prove that the song existed long before 1950 and that its authorship was known and established in a court of law? I presume that the court judgement is on record somewhere.  How can you get more official than that? CharlesTheBold 11:25, 19 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Could be half-true, a company on Capri used an old song written for another funicular to promote a funicular built in the 1950s, and the two stories merged? FlagSteward (talk) 16:50, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

Anime reference
In an episode of the anime FLCL, a character says something that sounds very similar to the title. It might be a pop culture reference. Anyone seen the show and know what I mean? Furi kuri, furi kura. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.184.39.100 (talk) 19:34, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

The Pizza Song
is this the pizza song —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.167.11.166 (talk) 20:28, 2 August 2009 (UTC)


 * yes 2603:6011:F403:A00:457D:913D:B382:5D00 (talk) 05:18, 31 March 2022 (UTC)
 * 🍕 2A00:23C6:BE86:B401:A02E:5724:4A0A:3567 (talk) 09:01, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

More translation notes
I believe "Nanninè", is a name -- most likely "Caroline". "Nanninè" does not mean "my love" in any dialect.

"oì nanninè" is "Oh, Caroline!" (as in another well-known Neapolitan song "oi Marie"! )

oì Nè is "Oh, Nè", short for "Oh, Caroline"

Therefore the song means "Marry me, Caroline", not "Marry me, my love" -- Just saying.

The song was also arranged very beautifully by Arnold Schoenberg for string quartet, as I recall.173.56.200.209 (talk) 03:51, 25 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Various sources confirm that it is a name, including my liner notes to Pavarotti's 1979 Decca LP, Favorite Neapolitan Songs, which I own. These are not folk songs using stock phrases, but art poetry, and are quite literary and poetic. Unfortunately almost all the lyrics on the web are garbled. I'm waiting to find a better version for the second verse (not on Pavarotti's album) the meaning of which still escapes me.173.56.200.209 (talk) 06:08, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

I am not an expert, but I am Italian. I think Nannina is short for Giovanna (feminine of John), and I'm pretty sure that "Nanninè" is short for "Nanninella" (adding the suffix "-ella" to a feminine name in Neopolitan is rather common, and so is shortening words by dropping their last syllable, this being an example of both things being done at once). Indeed, I'd propose a better spelling would be "Nannine'", the ending apostrophe to indicate the elision. (Luca) 118.90.77.81 (talk) 10:13, 27 September 2011 (UTC)

Also: I think a lot of the words that have accents in the Neopolitan, should actually end with apostrophes. I'd be happy to paste my proposal here or edit the page, if the others would like this. (Luca) 118.90.77.81 (talk) 10:45, 27 September 2011 (UTC)

There is no "J" in the Italian alphabet. Why is "J" shown in the Neapolitan version of the song?
The Italian lyrics shown in the article include the following, "Jamme, jamme 'ncoppa, jamme jà...". There is no "J" in the Italian alphabet. Why is "J" shown in the Neapolitan version of the song? Is this an oversight, or an oddity of the dialect around Naples? ```` — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.78.56.211 (talk) 02:20, 27 May 2011 (UTC)


 * This is indeed how you're supposed to spell that sound in southern Italian accents. Many words typical of dialects around Rome and souther would require the use of the "j" ("i lunga" in Italian) for this construction. What's never in Italian are the letters "k", "y" ("i greca"), "x" and "w". The "j" is also part of some southern family names, a famous example being the case of Ettore and Quirino Majorana, as well as the first name Jacopo (which is indeed also found spelled with an "I" to be true). (Luca, sorry I have no account) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.90.77.81 (talk) 09:44, 25 September 2011 (UTC)

A movie to quote
Maybe it could be mentioned that the Disney movie "Fun and Fancy Free" (early 1940's) has an episode (the second one) that is the story of Jack and the Magic Beans, in which Goofy and Donald Duck sing a song about food on the musical theme of Funiculì, Funiculà. (Luca, sorry I have no account) 118.90.77.81 (talk) 09:52, 25 September 2011 (UTC)

Small f
There is no need for second 'f' to be incorrectly capitalised 'F' according to WikiProject Classical Music MOS. In ictu oculi (talk) 05:10, 2 December 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
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There has been a Sesame Street cover of this
Title explains everything — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1702:25A0:B070:A479:655B:3F58:5601 (talk) 22:01, 8 August 2020 (UTC)

inclusion in ditty.it
this is included in the app ditty.it, leading to the popular "pizza pasta put it in a box" version — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lovebuny (talk • contribs) 16:00, 26 March 2021 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 16:54, 30 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Giuseppe Turco, Luigi Denza - Funiculì funiculà.ogg

Parodies
There are parodies of this song that should probably be mentioned in the article JayBirdtyper (talk) 17:18, 12 August 2022 (UTC)

Actually to be more specific, there's one that goes "Christopher Columbus what do you think of that? a big fat lady sat upon my hat! JayBirdtyper (talk) 17:20, 12 August 2022 (UTC)

In the book Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Cafe Funiculi Funicula is the name of the time-traveling cafe in the book Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. thistlechick (talk) 14:07, 5 October 2022 (UTC) thistlechick (talk) 14:07, 5 October 2022 (UTC)

"Authority control databases"?
Why is this category added to the bottom? Shadowjonathan (talk) 18:54, 1 November 2023 (UTC)