It’s the first time I work out a fingerstyle arrangement of this kind where I accompany the singing with a variety of things and not just a repetitive fingerpicking pattern…not sure how much you’ll like the result though, as my rendition might easily fall into the “did you have stomach ache?” category
Nevertheless I must confess it’s been incredible practice for me in terms of how beneficial it’s been for my developing skills; I felt like it really made me grow along the way and somehow it marks a milestone. Apologises for all the words that I didn’t finish while singing
The original song was written back in 1925 in our ligurian dialect from Genoa, in the north of Italy and it’s become the symbol of the local musical culture.
It tells the story of a man emigrating to Latin America looking for his luck and a better life, depicting a very common social phenomenon of those years. This english version was made in 2017 by this artist with the Carlo Felice Theater Orchestra in Genova and they did an amazing job in being so faithful to the original song; when the lyrics couldn’t be translated precisely an enriching and powerful poetic language is used.
To those this one is dedicated: I’d love to read about your stories! What appears right in front of your eyes when you think home?
Tod @CATMAN62 already wrote about his Father’s Grandfather emigrating from Italy, in another thread. Tod might these had been his thoughts and feelings?
What a lovely song, well performed and cool production
You should have stuck to the Italian. These days anyone who wants can get an instant translation
I think I was about 12 years old at a sleepover at my friend’s house, when his mother asked me over breakfast: “Brian, your mother is Irish, your father from Denmark. You grew up going to an American school in Beirut, and now you’re living here in Switzerland. Do you never wonder where home is?”
I was genuinely puzzled, as I had never thought of home in geographical terms. It was quite obvious to me where home was. The same as for all the other kids I knew- It was the house where your family lived!
I still believe that is true, although I do understand that if you stay in one place long enough you can transfer the feelings from the people to places.
I’ll never feel English or British, but my home is here in Merseyside
Beautiful Silvia, really nicely played and sung. I echo what Brian @brianlarsen said about where home is. I have been rambling for over 25 years with work mostly between The Netherlands , Sweden and these past few years in Chicago , and although I will always feel Irish home for me is where my wife and children are. I guess I am lucky in that there have been many places I have called home over the years.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful piece of music
That was nice. There was a seriousness in that but I loved that I got a feeling for what you were singing. There was the pilgrimage of the progenitor of the song, there was a real story.
I understand and see that you have learned a lot with practicing this song … and the length does not make it any easier … super well done
And an Italian version would also have sounded very nice,so I’ll just wait patiently for that ,because that would take me even more back a bit to my homes in Italy, where I spent years all together over 40 years…
Home is where my bed is, I would have said in the past, but after almost a year of mandatory military service and months of sleeping in hospitals, I will now say "home is where Hermine is "
Greetings and thanks for bringing back nice memory`s from Italy
Really well played and sung Sylvia. I enjoyed the changes in tempo and the variety of styles you used. Well done, that was a moving interpretation of the song and the mindset of the man emigrating to America came over well.
I agree with some of the others and I too would have preferred the song in Italian with a translation that I could read at the same time as listening. I think the “powerful poetic language” of the translation sounded a bit contrived at times and must have been quite difficult for you to learn and sing.
For me home is where I live, now for nearly 30 years with my family. The house has moved around in South Africa and maybe living in 5 cities meant that I became less attached to any one house. Oh and I did live 9 years in England. Funny, still remember the address of that house.
Such a lovely Italian Folk song. Since I couldn’t understand the lyrics so well, due to my bit of a hearing loss, I searched the song and read the translation. I so enjoyed how you interpreted it…with your dynamics and your little hesitations when the moods changed. Your singing and playing were so beautiful.
Well, I never moved out of state. My home as a child went from West Texas and then at five to East Texas. Home was where family was. A nostalgic memory of those times: At night while laying in bed, I will always remember those nights when Mom and Dad would be laughing at Johnny Carson. Those precious moments of laughter with the TV on always stuck with me. Now home is with my own family for the last 42 years this month.
First, I wish to address your playing… you really conveyed so much feeling & emotion! The tone of your classical guitar was very much conducive to the ‘feel’ that this song (which I was not familiar with) seems to require. I think you were very “on” with the timing & dynamics! Very Well Done!!!
Unfortunately, my grandfather didn’t know his father very well… I don’t know how old he was when his father passed away but he was young & so didn’t get a lot of family history. I do know that is why my grandfather had the ancestry search done when he was in his 50s. It’s too bad that many records were lost in a fire at Ellis Island years ago… that’s where his parents were processed when they arrived in the United States. Because of this, I can only guess at what my great grandfather’s emotions were during his life here. I’m sure that he probably enjoyed many aspects of the US, but missed parts of his family’s ancestral home.
All that said, I personally agree with my fellow Justinites above, HOME is where your heart is. In my case, it’s wherever my adorable wife is! If she wanted to go anywhere in the world, I’d follow her & it would still be “home”!
Her grandfather immigrated from rural Lebanon, somewhere near Beirut. I know for a fact that he missed the “Old County” but came here because of religious persecution & therefore felt he couldn’t go back. The family settled in the Detroit area where to this day there is a large population of people of Lebanese descent - it’s not uncommon to go into a Lebanese restaurant in Detroit & find a proprietor who has difficulty speaking English!
Again, Bravo for your lovely performance, Silvia!!!
Beautiful Sivia ! Always a pleasure to listen to you. Always musical. Always earing your love of music and of guitar. Thank you for sharing your music and your enthousiasm.
You played and sung so well, with so much emotion. It was really touching me deep down inside. The accompanying arrangement worked so well and shows your growth as a musician. Very impressive. But the best part was the feelings you evoked, it felt so true and pure!
As to your question: In German, we have the word “Heimat” which - at least for me - means even more home than just home (if this makes sense). My favourite German Singer Herbert Grönemeyer once wrote a song “Heimat” having the line “Heimat ist kein Ort, Heimat ist ein Gefühl” - translating to: Home is not a place, but an emotion/feeling. As lots of fellow commentors above also said, this holds true for me, too.
For a long, long time, I would call the “place” where my parents live as home. As they still live in the same house I grew up in, it always feels a little like coming home when we go to see them every once in a while (3 - 4 hours drive). It would still feel like this, If they had moved, I guess.
But nowadays, home is where my husband and son are and I want to build some beautiful feeling of home for the little one, too.
There is no English word for Heimat, as far as I know Home is Heim. It’s usually in a building. Heimat is a broader geographical area, ranging from village to whole country, in which you feel part of that society.
(Many people might answer Home is where you would want to spend Christmas )
Heimat is a German word that generally refers to the homeland.
However, the word can also indicate the Heimat, the own familiar environment or birthplace of any other people or other person…
The idea of the Heimat is difficult to define, especially because it involves an emotional bond with a particular area. In short, it means all life circumstances to which a person feels emotional attachment, mainly because he or she grew up here. The Heimat cannot therefore be designated as a demarcated area, because it does not indicate a concrete place but can also include people, for example.
Wiki
a very large group of Dutch people have had a negative connotation with that word for a very long time, you can guess what period that came from …
I think that is over now …
You’re lucky indeed Thanks for listening Eddie and for your feedback!
thanks Rogier! I’m happy you can see it!
It’ll come, I promise, on acoustic guitar and with some strumming…also my daddy would be very dissapointed with me otherwise…there’s no italian one to tell the truth, as the original is sung in our local dialect @brianlarsen@sairfingers
That means my rendition was what it had to be! Yay! I love when a song can tell a good story!
Wow…I wonder what it means living in such a “distant” to me and my mind place. I know too little of South Africa…
Highly Nostalgic Content 
home for me is where my wife and children are. I guess I am lucky in that there have been many places I have called home over the years.
,because that would take me even more back a bit to my homes in Italy, where I spent years all together over 40 years…
…
