Is it possible he’s singing ‘Eh, Campare’, the Louis Prima song? I don’t have a copy of the song in question or I’d check on my own, but from what you guys are saying, that could be it. It’s a song about a band, and was pretty popular… Well… Around the time Louis Prima was popular.
Just a possibility
I’m almost positive that the word is gumbaree. I’ve heard The Greaseman Show enough times to recognize that; making up lyrics to Lou Monte’s “Eh, Gumbaree” was one of his regular bits.
OTOH, perhaps “Eh, Compare” and “Eh, Gumbaree” are the same song with slightly different lyrics. If so, I don’t think the verse we’re after is in there.
Just heard “Saturday in the Park” on the radio and have concluded that the second half could be just Italian-sounding nonsense. I know e se is right but there is definatly an “n” sound between se and arde.
Go on YouTube and look up this:
LOU MONTE - HEY GUMBAREE
Then google the lyrics to and the first half of the first line line of the song is this:
“Hey Gumbaree ci vo sanari”
The original questions was posted before You Tube may have ever had this song uploaded… so there you go.
See: Eh, Cumpari! - Wikipedia!
Which still doesn’t give a translation of the regional dialect…
Also it may be hard to translate his lyrics, because Wikipedia says that he would sing in a mix of Calabrese and English. Calibria is the Toe of Italy, and has it’s own regional Dialect… and since the song was recorded in 1959, that regional variation may still be strong enough to elude the mostly (Northern) Tuscan Italian that is the more official dialect which is what Google Translate recognizes.
Maybe one day it will… They keep adding languages… maybe they will branch out into major dialects one day.
I’ve always heard it as “hey, gompare, it’s a nice day” (eets ay nize day). Makes sense if you say it with a heavy Italian accent. And makes sense as something you might say to someone walking thru a park on a Saturday.
And I figured gompare (or cumpare or however you spell what sounds like gom-par-ay) is just Italian for mister or buddy or whatever.
That certainly fits “Eicay varee’, eisee’ nardee’” better than “Hey Gumbaree ci vo sanari”.
FWIW, in some languages (e.g., Russian) a “scoop” of ice cream is referred to as a “little ball” (sharik).
Just sayin’.
First, interestingly, the Italian word for godfather is “compare.” Sicilians use the term to mean, “Pal.” That’s something Mario Puzo changed forever. Nobody living in Sicily a century ago would have addressed a feared crimelord as “compare.” That was an affectionate nickname for a buddy. When you hear a Sicilian or Sicilian-American say, “Vinny is my goombah,” he’s using a derivation of the Italian word for godfather.
The ice cream vendor is singing “Eh, Cumpari,” an Italian novelty song that was was popularized in the Fifties by Julius LaRosa, who used to sing it on The Arthur Godfrey Show. After that, you often heard the song at Italian weddings or parties. It’s a fun, silly song… lyrically, it’s just a recitation of all the musical instruments in an Italian band, along with the sounds they make.
The ice cream vendor in Chicago’s “Saturday in the Park” is singing “Eh Cumpari,”
The basic lyrics go like this:
***Eh Cumpari, ci vo sunari.
Chi si sona? U friscalettu.
E comu si sona u friscalettu?
U friscalette, tipiti tipiti tam.
E cumpari, ci vo sunari
Chi si sona? U saxofona
E comu si sona u saxofona?
Tu tu tu tu u saxofona
U friscalette, tipiti tipiti tam
Translated, that means roughy,
Hey pal, music is playing.
What’s that sound? A friscalettu (a sort of whistle-type instrument).
What does it sound like, a friscalettu?
A friscalettu goes “Tippity tippity ta.”
Hey pal, music is playing.
What’s that sound? A saxophone.
What does it sound like, a saxophone?
A saxophone goes “Toot toot”
A friscalettu goes “Tippity tippity ta.”
And so on and so on. Each verse adds a new musical instrument, and the sound it makes.
According to Wikipedia, that’s exactly what Bobby Lamm is singing.
I just started writing the following before completely reading through your post:
I just checked out this live version for another reference, and I have to agree that the “Eh Cumpari, ci vo sunari” is what is sung there. That said, the studio version, I don’t quite hear that. There no “chee voh” sound there. I hear something like “ee-say nah-teh.” So who knows what’s going on.
So the studio version does sound like dummy lyrics to me, and the live version is clearly the “Eh, Gumbare” song.
Wow, a life-long mystery solved!
For what it’s worth on the studio recording I’ve always heard the last part as ise narre. That’s not too far from ci vo sunare
Only on the Dope. First 25 or 6 to 4, then Saturday in the Park. All things Chicago.