Singing Bella Ciao for Palestine

JVL Introduction

At the peace protests on Saturday the 18^th of January and again on 15^th February around fifty protesters in and around the Jewish Bloc, sang a version of Bella Ciao written by Tony Booth, calling for a mass movement for Palestinian justice and an end to apartheid and genocide. As one comrade commented it made a welcome change from other more familiar chants. The song, in its original Italian and in its many translations has been sung around the world to express solidarity with the oppressed, including for justice for Palestinians.  Here is a little of the history of the song.

Bella Ciao for Palestine

Bella Ciao has an illustrious history being sung to protest oppression and occupation. Commonly, it is believed to be the song of the Italian resistance against fascism. However, there is no clear evidence that it was sung during the period of World War Two.  The tune, itself, dates from an earlier period with words protesting the poor pay and unhealthy conditions for women rice workers in the North of Italy in the early 1900s. Leah Levane has spoken about these origins in a memorably illustrated talk for International Women’s Day for Red Line TV.  The first documented rendering of the widely known Italian version (Una Mattina Mi Son Svegliato) date from the early 1950s. It tells of the German invasion and the martyrdom and memorialisation of the partisans. They will be remembered, buried under flowers marking those ‘who died for liberty’.

It rapidly grew in popularity as an anthem of resistance, translated into many languages including:  Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Belarusian, Bosnian, Breton, Bengali, Bulgarian, Burmese, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, English, Esperanto, Finnish, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Hebrew, Japanese, Kashmiri, Kurdish, Persian, Macedonian, Malayalam, Marathi, Norwegian, Occitan, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian, Sinhalese, Slovak, Spanish, Syriac, Swedish, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Ukrainian and Yiddish.

The version I wrote often accompanies Palestine protests in Cambridge sung by some members of our street choir – LeftyMenSIng. The Italian version had been a key part of our repertoire. The new adaptation follows the pattern of the Italian version starting with the recognition of occupation though it speaks less of martyrdom and burial and more of mass struggle, rising like the original to a crescendo. Here is video of some LeftyMen singing it at a fundraiser for Palestine at Cambridge’s Junction Theatre. We start with the Italian version then switch. Others around the country may wish to sing it too. It would be great to have photos if they do.

Bella Ciao for Palestine. Tony Booth

Palestinians – awake each morning,
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao,
Palestinians awake each morning,
To occupation at their door.

They face expulsion – and separation,
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao,
They face expulsion – and separation,
From the land that feeds their lives.

Israel’s system – is less than human,
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao,
Israel’s system – is less than human,
Apartheid is a heinous crime.

And in Gaza – each day we witness,
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao,
And in Gaza – each day we witness,
Depravity of genocide.

In common struggle – we march together,
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
In common struggle – we march together,
Demanding justice for Palestine.

In our thousands – in our millions,
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao,
In our thousands – in our millions,
We are all Palestinians now.