This is the final song in my Italian weekend on 365 Songs. Today I’m playing the song Caruso, written by Lucio Dalla and recorded by many artists, including Dalla himself, Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli and many more. The exact meaning of the song is unclear, but the lyrics are assumed to tell the tale of the last days of the singer Enrico Caruso leading up to his death in 1921. Interestingly the confusion surrounds the Italian words used in the chorus as it’s unclear whether Caruso is addressing his wife or his daughter: the chorus begins with the phrase “ti voglio bene”, meaning “I love you”, but this phrase tends to be used more with family members or close friends, rather than in the sense of a romantic love.

This is the first song of June, but you can still listen to all of my May songs here. If it’s your first time on the site, find out more about the 365 Songs project.