Translation of the song El pass del gatt artist Davide Van de Sfroos

Sun vegnüü graand — ma mea taant —

I grew up — though not that much —

in questu siit ind’è ’l suu te sbrana,

in this place where the sun mauls you,

’duè scapüscia anca la bissa,

where even grass snakes stumble,

e induè ’l tramuunt el g’ha mai prèsa.

and where sunset is never in a hurry.

G’ho scià ’n curtell per tajà i stagion,

I have a knife on me, to cut seasons,

o per lo meno per facch pagüüra;

or at least to scare them;

vo in giir adasi per mea fà pulver,

I walk slowly not to kick up the dust,

e parli mai perchè fa tropp cold.

and I never speak because it’s too hot.

E ho faa ’l bagn insema ai aspis,

And I’ve taken baths together with asps,

ho majaa scerees o ho majaa caden;

I’ve eaten cherries and I’ve eaten chains;

gh’è anca una foto induè paar che ridi,

there’s also a picture where I look like I’m laughing,

ma l’è una smorfia per la tropa lüüs.

but that’s a wince because there was too much light.

E in questu siit passa mai nissön,

And in this place where nobody ever passes by,

se ferma piö gnanca ’l tempuraal;

not even storms stop anymore;

ma me una sira ho basaa una dona,

yet, one evening I kissed a woman,

e de dree a una pianta la m’ha dii ’l so nomm.

and behind a tree she told me her name.

E sto in söl müür della ferruvia

And I sit on the railway wall

quan che rüva un treno una volta al dé,

when a train is coming, once a day,

perchè una sira ho basaa una dona

because one evening I kissed a woman

e sö quela pianta ho scrivüü ’l so nomm.

and on that tree I wrote her name.

E l’è rüada cunt el pass del gatt,

And she came with a cat’s step,1

senza culzètt e senza amiis,

with no socks and no friends,

el so suriis l’era meza facia,

her smile was half her face,

l’oltra metà l’era una cicatriis.

the other half was a scar.

L’ha mai spiegaa de induè la vegniva,

She never explained where she came from,

l’ha mai parlaa de quel anell al dii,

she never spoke about that ring on her finger,

ma ’l tatüagg che g’han faa in presonn,

but the tattoo she got in prison,

me l’ho vedüü quand l’ha traa fö i vestii.

I saw it when she took off her clothes.

Strengéva foort e se lassavi streeng,

She held tight and I let myself be held,

cumè un ragn stremii, muvevi i brasc che gh’eri,

like a scared spider, I was flailing the arms I had,

e me pareva de balà in un tango

and I seemed to be dancing a tango

tra l’erba salvia e tücc i pagn stendüü.

among the sage and the hung up clothes.

E in questu siit passa mai nissön,

And in this place nobody ever passes by,

e anca se ’l passa prema o pö ’l ne va;

and even if they pass by, sooner or later they go;

ma quela sira ho faa ’l giir del muund,

but that evening I traveled around the world,

o forsi ’l muund l’ha faa ’l giir de me.

or maybe the world traveled around me.

E smorzi ’l suu cunt una cicada,

And I put out the sun with a spit,

speci la nocc per tajacch el coll,

I wait for the night to cut its throat,

e m’hann vedüü anca basà una pianta

and they saw me kissing a tree too,

propri nel punto ’duè ho scrivüü ’l sö nomm.

right on the spot where I wrote her name.

Quaivön se sfoga a catà i magiustri,

Someone finds comfort in harvesting strawberries,

a giügà ai caart là de dree a ’n tratuur;

in playing cards, there behind a tractor;

quaivön el dorma sura a una gazzetta,

someone sleeps on a newspaper,

per tücc i oltri gh’è dumà un büceer.

for all the rest there’s just a glass.2

E in questu siit passa mai nissön,

And in this place nobody ever passes by,

ma ’l sö prufömm urmai l’è ché de cà;

but her smell dwells here by now;

ogni taant la rüa, ogni taant la va,

every now and then she comes, every now and then she goes,

ho imparaa a speciàla e pö lassàla na.

I learned to wait for her and then to let her go.