Submitted for your approval. . .
It’s Magic
Also submitted for your approval: the translated lyrics of Largo Al Factotum from Rossini’s Barber of Seville… screech owl, could I do no less?
Largo al factotum della citta. Largo!
(Make way for the best man in this city, make way!)
La la la la la la la la!
Presto a bottega che l’alba e gia. Presto!
(Hurrying to his shop now that it’s morning. Hurrying!)
La la la la la la la la!
Ah, che bel vivere, che bel piacere (che bel piacere)
(Ah, isn’t life good, how pleasant it is (how pleasant it is)
per un barbiere di qualita! (di qualita!)
(For a barber of quality! (of quality!)
Ah, bravo Figaro!
(Ah, hooray for Figaro!)
Bravo, bravissimo!
Bravo! La la la la la la la la!
Fortunatissimo per verita!
(How fortunate to be so lucky!)
Bravo!
La la la la la la la la!
Fortunatissimo per verita!
Fortunatissimo per verita!
La la la la, la la la la, la la la la la la la la!
Pronto a far tutto, la notte e il giorno
(Ready for anything, night and day)
sempre d’intorno in giro sta.
(Always busy and aware of everything.)
Miglior cuccagna per un barbiere,
(A better lot for a barber)
vita piu nobile, no, non si da.
(a better life cannot be found, no, not at all)
La la la la la la la la la la la la la!
Rasori e pettini
(Razors and combs)
lancette e forbici,
(Lancets and scissors)
al mio comando
(At my command)
tutto qui sta.
(Are all here.)
Rasori e pettini
(Razors and combs)
lancette e forbici,
(Lancets and scissors)
al mio comando
(At my command)
tutto qui sta.
(Are all here.)
V’e la risorsa,
(And there are extras)
poi, de mestiere
(Then, for the business)
colla donnetta… col cavaliere…
(With the ladies…with the gentlemen)
colla donnetta…
(With the ladies)
La la li la la la la la!
col cavaliere…
(With the gentlemen)
La la li la la la la la la la la!!!
Ah, che bel vivere, che bel piacere (che bel piacere)
(Ah, isn’t life good, how pleasant it is (how pleasant it is)
per un barbiere di qualita! (di qualita!)
(For a barber of quality! (of quality!)
Tutti mi chiedono, tutti mi vogliono,
(Everyone asks for me, everyone wants me)
donne, ragazzi, vecchi, fanciulle:
(Women, young people, old people, the blonde young ladies;)
Qua la parruca… Presto la barba…
(What about the wig, a quick shave)
Qua la sanguigna… Presto il biglietto…
(Some leeches for bleeding… Quick the bill)
Tutto mi chiedono, tutti mi vogliono,
(Everyone asks for me, everyone wants me)
tutti mi chiedono, tutti mi vogliono,
(Everyone asks for me, everyone wants me)
Qua la parruca, presto la barba, presto il biglietto, ehi!
(What about the wig, a quick shave, quick the bill, eh!)
Figaro… Figaro… Figaro… Figaro…Figaro…
Figaro… Figaro… Figaro… Figaro…Figaro!!!
Ahime, (ahime) che furia!
(Heavens, heavens, what chaos!)
Ahime, che folla!
(Heavens, what crowds!)
Uno alla volta, per carita! (per carita! per carita!)
(One at a time, For pity’s sake! for pity’s sake!)
Uno alla volta, uno alla volta,
uno alla volta, per carita!
Figaro! Son qua.
Ehi, Figaro! Son qua.
(Figaro, here I am! Eh, Figaro, here I am!)
Figaro qua, Figaro la, Figaro qua, Figaro la,
(Figaro here, Figaro there, Figaro here, Figaro there)
Figaro su, Figaro giu, Figaro su, Figaro giu.
(Figaro up, Figaro down, Figaro up, Figaro down)
Pronto prontissimo son come il fumine:
(Quicker and quicker the sparks fly with me;)
sono il factotum della citta!
(Because I am the best man in this city!)
della citta, della citta, della citta, della citta!
(in this city, in this city, in this city, in this city!)
Ah, bravo Figaro! Bravo, bravissimo;
Ah, bravo Figaro! Bravo, bravissimo;
a te fortuna (a te fortuna, a te fortuna) non manchera.
(From you luck - luck - luck - will never leave).
Ah, bravo Figaro! Bravo, bravissimo;
Ah, bravo Figaro! Bravo, bravissimo;
a te fortuna (a te fortuna, a te fortuna) non manchera.
(From you luck - luck - luck - will never leave).
Sono il factotum della citta,
(I am the best man in this city)
Sono il factotum della citta,
(I am the best man in this city)
della citta, della citta,
(in this city, in this city)
Della citta!!!
(In this city!!!)
La la la la la la la la LA!
The Italian sounds waaaay better. ;-D
warmgun, the song you’re thinking of is in What’s Up, Doc(1950). screech-owl has the lyrics right, except I’m pretty sure the first line was “Hey! Lookout! Stop!”
screech-owl, the industrial music Stalling used in those scenes is from “Powerhouse” by Raymond Scott. If I remember my liner notes correctly, Scott’s music was published by Warner Brothers and Stalling could borrow from it without having to pay a royalty. Stalling borrowed a lot. There are at least two CDs of Raymond Scott’s music, but they’re all the same songs. In fact, since they were compiled from Scott’s old records, they might even be the same recordings of the same songs. I’ve found some of his old albums in used record stores, but they’re all on 78s so I wouldn’t have any way to play them.
Listening to Scott can be strangely unsettling. You’ll hear themes that are instantly familiar, but then they keep going into a whole song. There’s a passage from “In an 18th Century Drawing Room” that was played whenever Granny walked into a room.
When I first started looking for Scott’s music on CD, there wasn’t any. But I swear I was hearing “Powerhouse” everywhere. In fact, in the middle of They Might Be Giants’ “Rhythm Section Want Ad”, they play a little of it on the accordian. I have no idea why.
Thank you RobotArm. I would never have thought of Scott; basically, I’ve never heard of him til now. Definitely going to look for the CDs.
And thank you Askia K. Hale. It’s one of those things I’ve been meaning to do, but just kept putting off.
The things you learn on these boards…
[sub]Leopold!!**
You can find the sound to the entire cartoon you described on the cd “Bugs Bunny On Broadway” (It’s actually a show with a live orchestra playing along to cartoons. I’ve seen it, it’s a hoot.)
cartoon music trivia: I’ve found brief excerpts of Wagner’s “Parsifal” in two WB cartoons.
More on Raymond Scott:
“In An 18th Century Drawing Room” is based on a Mozart piano sonata in C major.
The first CD of his music you should buy is “The Music of Raymond Scott - Reckless Nights and Turkish Twilights” (Columbia/Legacy CK65672). Half of the tracks will sound very familiar instantly.
The last part of Scott’s life was devoted to his experiments in electronic music, including automatic composition machines and electronically generating sound effects. Among electronic musicians he is considered a pioneer. Scott had Robert Moog design some circuits for him, and it was partly this work that later led Moog to create his famous synthesizer. A 2-CD set of some of Scott’s electronic work was issued recently. The set is called “Manhattan Research, Inc.” which was the name of the corporation Scott set up.
He didn’t think it was important that his music was being used in cartoons, and he didn’t realize that the cartoons would make his music instantly familiar decades later.
For more Raymond Scott info and audio clips of his electronic work, see http://www.raymondscott.com .
Does anybody remember the cartoon with Bugs vs the Mouse? I’m looking for the songs that were played on that episode. During this one Bugs plays the piano with his ears, throws TNT under the kwy protecter to kill the mouse but the mouse plays taps, plays a ragtime song and at the end Bugs turns the page of the music and finds it almost completely black and the mouse outshines Bugs and Bugs plays the last three notes.
My question is what is the ragtime song they played? Is that from something else or composed for Bugs?
Ha! I loved this thread.
But now it’s time to send it off to the newly-created forum Cafe Society.
The short is Rhapsody Rabbit and the classical piece Bugs plays is Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody #2. Although there isn’t any ragtime, there is what one might call “boogie-woogie” music, but I’m not sure it’s any specific piece.
WB also used Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody #2 in “Rhapsody in Rivets,” where they put up a building in time to it.
Stalling used the William Tell Overture extensively – the “storm” section for storms and the section afterward whenever he wanted to suggest a peaceful morning.
Of course, the composer used most often in WB cartoons was Harry Warren. He was the best of all possibly worlds, as far as they were concerned: popular songs (“Shuffle Off to Buffalo,” “The Lady in Red,” “Lullabye of Broadway”) and, since he worked for Warners, no royalties needed to be paid.