C'è la luna mezzo mare


"Luna mezz'o mare" is a comic Neapolitan song with worldwide popularity, traditionally styled as a brisk 6/8 tarantella, based on an earlier version from Sicily. The song portrays a mother-daughter "coming of age" exchange consisting of various comic, and sometimes sexual, innuendos. It is frequently performed at Italian-American wedding receptions and other festive occasions. Hit versions have included "Oh! Ma-Ma! " by Rudy Vallée and "Lazy Mary " by Lou Monte.

Origin

Related music and lyrics appeared as early as 1835, in the art song "La Danza" by Gioachino Rossini and Carlo Pepoli. By 1871 in Italy, bawdier versions were circulating. In 1927, New York City's Italian Book Company arranged and recorded a version by Sicilian sailor Paolo Citorello, and an American court upheld their copyright in 1928.

Popularity

Since the first recording in 1927, the song has proliferated with different titles and lyrics, both in English and in several variants of Italian. Hit recordings in the United States have included "Oh! Ma-Ma!" by Rudy Vallée and "Lazy Mary" by Lou Monte. Monte's version was initially banned from British broadcasts for undesirable innuendo, but has been played to a family-filled baseball stadium at almost every New York Mets home game since the mid-1990s, as the result of a fan survey. The humorous lyrics center around a young woman wondering about marriage with various tradesmen, ensuring the song's sustained popularity at Italian wedding receptions, including the opening scene of The Godfather.

Notable recordings

The song has been notably recorded with the following performers and titles: