If I Had A Hammer, best remembered in the Anglosphere for the happy version recorded by Trini Lopez, expressed very different sentiments when covered in Italy by Rita Pavone. Trini put the hammer down after the first verse and got busy with a bell and a song. Once Bella Rita takes hold of it, that hammer swings with murderous intent.
Hand me a hammer
What you wanna do?
I wanna smack someone in the head
Someone I just can’t stand, yeah yeah yeah,
A girl who’s all simpering
With painted eyes
That everyone wants to dance with
Leaving me to watch
It makes me so mad
It makes me so mad
Hand me a hammer
What you wanna do?
I wanna smack some people in the head
People I just can’t stand, eh eh eh
All those couples
So stuck together, they want the lights down low
They only play the slow songs, ha ha
It makes me so bored
It makes me so bored
Hand me a hammer
What you wanna do?
I wanna smash the phone (Oh yeah, that’ll work)
Cos any minute now My Mom’s gonna ring me
To tell me Daddy’s coming home so I have to come home, ufa
Not what I want, no no no
Not what I want
A blow to the head
To anyone who isn’t one of us
So our parties will be so much better
It’ll be just us there, only us friends
We will do our dances together
The Surf, the Hully Gully
How great would that be
How great would that be
JP, is this translation legit? And if so… what a damn shame Rita didn’t tackle Puff The Magic Dragon.
The mind is an unexplored country. 
Right on, Greg.
By: JP on October 16, 2015
at 12:56 AM
And JP, a question about a couple of Rita’s gestures. Specifically at 0:49, she appears to bite her finger. Does that mean anything?
And at 1:19, the hand to the mouth and then down as if she’s saying ‘It makes me puke’.
By: Gregoryno6 on October 16, 2015
at 7:36 PM
Side of the index finger in mouth with teeth showing, extreme dislike bordering on, ‘eye kil uy nex’..
Hand to side of mouth then down, ‘It makes me puke’..Good or another would be, ‘gimmie a break for shit sakes, huh!’
But then, all I know is the Sicilian stuffs, the Boot part is almost another world.
Can’t recall if L’ombelico di Svesda is from the Boot or not, if she is a Boot, she may have a different take. LMFAO..
By: JP on October 17, 2015
at 3:58 AM
Getting further and further from the happy-clappy version we sang along with way back when!
By: Gregoryno6 on October 17, 2015
at 5:26 AM
“further and further”, like from this orb to Pluto, mate.
By: JP on October 18, 2015
at 4:09 AM