Jay D’Ici

During the wedding scene of The Godfather (1972), an elderly man takes the microphone and begins to sing a traditional Neapolitan song. This is Gennaro Amato, a renowned Neapolitan comic performer who was one of the great figures of Italian-American stage and recording culture in early 20th-century New York.⁣ ⁣ The piece he performs is “C’è la luna mezzo mare” or “There’s a Moon in the Middle of the Sea”, a classic Sicilian wedding song. The song is full of meanings and humor. It’s an old folk tune about a mother and daughter discussing possible suitors.⁣ ⁣ 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢, 𝘮𝘢𝘮𝘢, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥,⁣ 𝘔𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰? 𝘔𝘢𝘮𝘢, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦.⁣ 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘳, 𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰.⁣ 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰.⁣ 𝘖𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘮𝘢, 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘳𝘦,⁣ 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢!⁣ 𝘖𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘮𝘢, 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘳𝘦,⁣ 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢!⁣