In 1972 Italian pop singer Adriano Celentano wrote and recorded “Prisencolinensinainciusol”. This song tries to capture how American English sounds to Italian ears. All of the lyrics are nonsensical nonwords, but delivered by the singer in a swaggering American twang.
Celentano’s stab at the essence of New World English looks nothing like English in print, but sounded out it emphasizes the aspects of it that sound odd to Italian ears: the stuttering irregular freestyle rhythms and drawled diphthong vowels, especially the long A and I. Awright!
A little online searching will find you wonderful television productions of this unique song, and various attempts to “translate” it into some kind of English. That strikes me as a worthy creative exercise for a writer or vocalist. Listen to it like a scratchy old platter, trying to make sense out of a distorted yawp! Col mein = coalmine? I leave it to you:
Prisencolinensinainciusol
In de col mein seivuan
Prisencolinensinainciusol ol rait
Uis de seim cius nau op de seim
Ol uait men in de colobos dai
Trrr – ciak is e maind beghin de col
Bebi stei ye push yo oh
Uis de seim cius nau op de seim
Ol uait men in de colobos dai
Not s de seim laikiu de promisdin
Iu nau in trabol lovgiai ciu gen
In do camo not cius no bai for lov so
Op op giast cam lau ue cam lov ai
Oping tu stei laik cius go mo men
Iu bicos tue men cold dobrei goris
Oh sandei
Ai ai smai sesler
Eni els so co uil piso ai
In de col men seivuan
Prisencolinensinainciusol ol rait
Ai ai smai senflecs
Eni go for doing peso ai
Prisencolinensinainciusol ol rait
In de col men seivuan
Prisencolinensinainciusol ol rait
Ai ai smai senflecs
Eni go for doing peso ai
Prisencolinensinainciusol ol rait
Uel ai sint no ai giv de sint
Laik de cius nobodi oh gud taim lev feis go
Uis de seim et seim cius go no ben
Let de cius end kai for not de gai giast stei
Ai ai smai senflecs
Eni go for doing peso ai
In de col mein seivuan
Prisencolinensinainciusol ol rait
Lu nei si not sicidor
Ah es la bebi la dai big iour
Ai aismai senflecs
Eni go for doing peso ai
In de col mein seivuan
Prisencolinensinainciusol ol rait
Lu nei si not sicodor
Ah es la bebi la dai big iour
– Adriano Celentano, 1972