Barbagal -- Italian folk song?

Subject: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: GUEST,Mimsey
Date: 05 Jul 00 - 01:42 PM

Hi, folks! Just dropping by to see if anyone knows the background of a song named Barbagal.. I understand it may be of Italian origin. It appears on a Bok-Trickett-Muir album immediately following a cut titled Carrion Crow, and is sung to the same tune. I assume the text of Carrion Crow is the translation of the latter. Mighty curious about it. Thanks!

Mimsey

Subject: RE: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 05 Jul 00 - 04:03 PM

Hi, Mimsy - this page has a sound clip of a very interesting-sounding sound called "Barbagal." Is it the same one? I sent a message to Sandy Paton of Folk-Legacy Records, and I'm sure he'll stop in and tell us what he knows about the song.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: GUEST,Mimsey
Date: 05 Jul 00 - 04:41 PM

That's the one! Thanks, Joe. Eager to hear more.

Subject: RE: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: Lepus Rex
Date: 06 Jul 00 - 02:22 PM

Here's the same site in English. Tells a bit about the Flemish band Laïs. And here's the lyrics and a little bit about the song. Nice song, too...

Subject: ADD: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 06 Jul 00 - 02:50 PM

Other Web sites have a habit of disappearing, so I'm going to post the lyrics here; Taken from the Web site of a Flemish band named Laïs.
-Joe Offer-

---

Barbagal

---

"This song comes from Italy. We learned it from a recording by the Italian group Cantovivo."
"This is the song which brought Laïs into being in Gooik. We already had a tape of the version by the North Italian ensemble Cantovivo for quite some time. The lyrics mean nothing, it's sheer delight in sound. We enjoyed doing it for old times' sake."

Barbagal en veil le ran curan dei
Diridimdom diridom paura mi
Cur puletta an ciel le mutak a bar
Diridimdom diridom paura mi

E foli, fola, folero, e folero, lero li
      Amora am barbagal porom
Diridimdom diridom paura mi

A porte lo cure come fu sal ra
Diridimdom diridom paura mi
A jo la voi gal, a bara voi gar
Diridimdom diridom paura mi

E foli, fola, folero, e folero, lero li
      Amora am barbagal porom
Diridimdom diridom paura mi

Cer cukel em nui a patientia bel
Diridimdom diridom paura mi
A criava forte su mi pi bel
Diridimdom diridom paura mi

E foli, fola, folero, e folero, lero li
      Amora am barbagal porom
Diridimdom diridom paura mi

Cum le brahe curte culte tunge man
Diridimdom diridom paura mi
A criava a curta forsa sunga ra ba ram
Diridimdom diridom paura mi

E foli, fola, folero, e folero, lero li
      Amora am barbagal porom
Diridimdom diridom paura mi

Forte quel um fis a la capel
Diridimdom diridom paura mi
O ca fabre, to cafa bel
Diridimdom diridom paura mi

E foli, fola, folero, e folero, lero li
      Amora am barbagal porom
Diridimdom diridom paura mi

---

Subject: RE: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: Lepus Rex
Date: 06 Jul 00 - 02:56 PM

Good idea, Joe. Do you just cut and paste it, and it looks nice like that?
Also, I just ran those lyrics through a translator, and, like it says, it's mostly gibberish. Cool, that means I can pretty much understand it:)

Subject: RE: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: GUEST,GREAT!!
Date: 06 Jul 00 - 06:33 PM

Thanks, guys! I am tickled pink!

Blessin's on yer heads, all!!

Mimsey

Subject: Copying lyrics from another source
From: Joe Offer
Date: 06 Jul 00 - 06:38 PM

Hi, L. Rex - I right-clicked on the page and chose "view source" from the menu that popped up, and then I copy-pasted from the other page. That preserves the HTML tags, most importantly the line breaks. The only trouble is that in this case, the other Web page was black and the typeface white. If I had pasted the lyrics straight from the "source page, I would have had white-on-white lyrics.
If you had copy-pasted right from the other page, you would have had the words right and the color would be OK, but the line breaks would have been gone. They're easy to add - they look like this:

<br>

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: Lepus Rex
Date: 07 Jul 00 - 12:29 AM

Joe, thanks alot. I'll have try that next time. ---Lepus Rex

Subject: RE: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: Escamillo
Date: 07 Jul 00 - 01:03 AM

Curious,very curious song, since it is not Italian, not Neapolitan, not French.It seems a dialect from the North of Italy, influenced by French. (Any grand granddady from that region ?)
Un abrazo - Andrés

Subject: Lyr. Add: BARBIGAL (It. folk)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 18 Aug 05 - 06:19 PM

According to the Italian Folk Music site, the song is from the Piemonte (northern) Italy, and is in dialect.

"This is a story about Barbagal, a drunkard who rode through the town in the middle of the night on his horse with a bottle in his hand wearing nothing but his underwear, waking everyone up by shouting at the top of his voice, "I am a drunken fool."

There are several texts on the web from the modern group Lais with slightly different spellings. Those here are from the Italian Folk Music site, and from Cesa; the first is simplified. I assume that the Lais version is the one used by Bok-Trickett (Lais website currently down).
I have no idea whether Bok-Trickett used the Italian melody or used one of those associated with "The Carrion Crow."

In parentheses- the only words an Italian friend knew for certain

Lyr. Add: BARBIGAL (It. folk)

Barbagal l'e andait l'era ancora neuit
Dilidin don dilidon- *povra mi! (*poor me!)
Co'l bonet an sj'euj l'e *monta a caval (*mounted on his horse)
Dilidin don diladon - povra mi!

Co:
E folli folla follero
e follero 'llero 'lle
o bon om, Barbagal povr om
dilidin don diladon - povra mi!

Con le braje curte a co'l pinton an man
Dilidin don diladon - povra mi!
A crijava a tuta forsa: "son un rabadan"
Dilidin don diladon - povra mi!

Co:

Sel cloche la neuit a fasia 'n ciadel
Diladin don diladon - povra mi!
A crijava fort: "i son mi 'l pi bel"
Dilidin don diladon - povra mi!

Co:

Quandi che 'l Monvia a l'ha 'l capel
Dilidin don diladon povra mi!
O ch'a fa brut o ch'a fa bel
Diladin don diladon - povra mi!

Co:

Barbagal

A different text is given by Alberto Cesa and his Cantovivo group. He seems to have used a traditional English tune (not named).

Lyr. Add: BARBAGAL (Cesa)

Barbagal l'è 'ndait l'era ancùra nöit
dili din don dilidon poura mi
Cul bunét an s'j'öi l'é muntè a cavèl
dilidin don dilidon poura mi.

Co:
e folli' folla' follero
e follero 'llero llì
o bun om barbagal pour'om
dili din don dilidon pouri mi.

Cun le bràie cürte e cul pintùn 'n man
A criàva a tüta forsa sun 'n rabadàn

A guardèlu curi curna füsa 'n rat
A gnaulàvu i can a baulàvu i gat.

Sël cluché la nöit a fasì ciadél
A cràva fort i sun mi 'l pì bél

Quandi che 'l Munvis a l'à 'l capél
O ch'a fa brüt o ch'a fa bél

Translation into Italian (someone should be able to handle this:

Barbagal è andato era ancora notte, col berretto sugli occhi è montato a cavallo, con i calzoni corti e col bottiglione in mano gridava a tutta forza un rabadàn (buono a nulla ecc.),
a guardelo correre come fosse un topo miagolavano i cani abbaiavano i gatti, sul campanile la notte faceva un casino,
gridava forte "sono io il più bello", Quando il Monviso ha il capello (di nuvole) o farà brutto o farà bello.

(and I hope my html is up to snuff)

Subject: RE: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: bbc
Date: 18 Aug 05 - 10:17 PM

Thanks for those lyrics. I've always tried (unsuccessfully) to sing along w/ BMT's version of that song.

best,

Barbara

Subject: RE: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 18 Aug 05 - 10:42 PM

Link to Cesa e Cantovivo lyrics quoted above:
Barbagal

Subject: RE: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: Fred McCormick
Date: 09 Sep 09 - 10:51 AM

I found this song on an LP by an Italian group called Cantovivo just last night. Thinks I, 'That will do very nicely for Worlds of Trad, my Internet radio station. I'd better find out something about it."

I googled "Barbagal" and up comes this Mudcat thread.

Thanks folks. And yes, Cantovivo do use the Carrion Crow tune.

Subject: RE: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: GUEST,k goodin
Date: 19 Jul 11 - 12:48 PM

Hi... I rememember hearing i foli folero.....GILTH IN A GERROW
looking for Carion Crow a la Bok...with the gilth in a gerrow,,
words...enjoyed all of your Barbagal ramblings.. the song
has been drifting in my head for decades...

Subject: RE: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: Monique
Date: 19 Jul 11 - 01:56 PM

Here's what it means

Barbagal left when it was still dark,
with his cap on his eyes and riding a horse

With short pants and his two-litre bottle in hands
He shouted at the top of his voice "I'm a good for nothing"

Watching him run as if he had been a rat,
The dogs were mewing, the cats were barking

On the steeple at night he would make a racket
He shouted loud "The most handsome is me"

When the Monviso has its cap on (meaning there are clouds on top of the Monviso)
The weather will be bad or it will be fine.

Subject: RE: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 19 Jul 11 - 05:17 PM

The title says

BARBAGAL
di Alberto Cesa - ispirato a una filastrocca di origine anglosassone

which means "by Alberto Cesa, inspired by a ditty of Anglo-Saxon origin". In other words, "revival".

The last verse is a joke known in many languages, a parody of rhymed weather rules.

Subject: RE: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: Barbara
Date: 19 Jul 11 - 09:43 PM

The language is Piedmontese -- here's the Wikipedia link.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piedmontese_language
I ran into a lovely little lady who spoke it in my father's retirement community in East Detroit, Michigan. She showed me a picture of her family home white stucco sided, two stories and a red tile roof nestled up against the foothills. She pronounced the name of the language Pee mon tayseh, hitting the *tayz* part very hard.
n.b. this has also evolved into "Daddy Fox" in England and the US.
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: Barbagal -- Italian folk song?
From: GUEST,Stefano
Date: 19 Jan 14 - 12:46 PM

Trhis song is a traditionally ballad form Piemonte (Norton western italy) u can find on utube player form Cantovivo