C'è la luna mezzo mare

"Luna mezz'o mare"
Wedding scene from The Godfather (1972)
Song by Paolo Citorello
Language	Sicilian
English title	Moon amid the sea
Released	1927 (1927)
Recorded	1927
Genre	Tarantella

"Cc'è la luna n menzu ô mari" (Sicilian for 'There's the moon amid the sea'), mostly known in the English-speaking world as "C'è la luna mezzo mare", "Luna mezz'o mare" and other similar titles, is a comic Sicilian song with worldwide popularity, traditionally styled as a brisk ⁶
₈ tarantella. 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! (The Butcher Boy)" by Rudy Vallée and "Lazy Mary (Luna Mezzo Mare)" by Lou Monte.

Origin

Related music and lyrics appeared as early as 1835, in the art song "La Danza" (tarantella napoletana) 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 (sometimes spelled Citarella), and an American court upheld their copyright in 1928.^[1][2]

Popularity

Since the first recording in 1927, the song has proliferated with different titles and lyrics, both in English and in several southern Italian dialects.^[2][3] Hit recordings in the United States have included "Oh! Ma-Ma!" by Rudy Vallée (1938, peaked at No. 8)^[4] and "Lazy Mary" by Lou Monte (1958, peaked at No. 12).^[5] Monte's version was initially banned from British broadcasts for undesirable innuendo,^[6] but has been played to a family-filled baseball stadium during the seventh-inning stretch at almost every New York Mets home game since the mid-1990s, as the result of a fan survey. However, Mets have plans to replace the song during the 7th inning stretch after the 2024 season.^[7] The humorous lyrics center around a young woman wondering about marriage with various tradesmen (butcher, fisherman, fireman, etc.), ensuring the song's sustained popularity at Italian wedding receptions, including the opening scene of The Godfather (1972).^[2][3] The song was also included in the 2010 videogame Mafia II, as part of the fictional radio station Empire Classic. In early 2022 the song was used as part of a popular TikTok trend where creators would use the song showing things in their home that "just make sense" while making a stereotypical Italian hand gesture to the beat of the song.

In the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, the cast sang the song in the episodes "Mia Famiglia" and "Italy".

Notable recordings

The song has been notably recorded with the following performers and titles:^[2][3][8]

• 1927: Paolo Citarella, "Luna mezzomare (Moonlight at Sea)" (Brunswick Records – 58042)
• 1928: Rosina Gioiosa, "Mi vogghiu maritari (I Want to Get Married)" (Brunswick Records – 58073)
• 1929: Paolo Citorello, "Mamma a cu m'addari"
• 1930: Paolo Citorello, "Mi vulissi maritari (I Want to Get Married)"
• 1930s: Silvia Coruzzolo, "A luna mezzo o mare"
• 1930s: I Diavoli, "La luna in mezzo al mare (A luna mmezzu 'u mari)"
• 1938: Rudy Vallée, "Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)", 1975 compilation Jukebox Saturday Night. 96 Great Jukebox Hits (Reader's Digest – RDA 139-A)
• 1938: Billy Cotton and His Band, "Oh! Ma-Ma" (Rex – 9309)
• 1938: Joe Loss and His Band, "Oh! Ma-Ma!" (Regal Zonophone Records – MR 2785)
• 1938: Dick Robertson and His Orchestra, "Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)" (Decca Records – 1726)
• 1938: Gracie Fields, "Oh! Ma-Ma (The Butcher Boy)" (Rex – 9350)
• 1938: Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians "Oh! Ma-Ma (The Butcher Boy)" (Victor – 25857)
• 1938: Nat Gonella & His Georgians "Oh! Ma-Ma" (Odeon Records – O.F. 5712)
• 1938: George Hall, "Oh! Ma Ma (The Butcher Boy)"
• 1938: Andrews Sisters, "Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)" (Decca Records – 1859); 1957 album Andrews Sisters by Popular Demand (Decca Records – DL 8360)
• 1938: Gail Reese and Glenn Miller Orchestra, "Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)", 2001 album The Complete Sustaining Broadcasts: Volume 3 - On the Sentimental Side (Jazz Band Records – EBCD 2180/81-2)
• 1939: Paolo Dones, "'A luna 'mmenzu 'u mari!" (Columbia Records – 14359-F)
• 1940: Trio Vocale Sorelle Lescano, "Ohi Ma - Ma! (Parlophon – G.P. 92840)
• 1946: Rose Marie, "Chena a luna", 1953 album Show Stoppers (Mercury Records – MG 25143)
• 1951: Dean Martin, "Luna mezzo mare" (Capitol Records – 1724); 1993 album Pardners (Fremus – CDFR 0507)
• 1954: Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians, "Oh! Ma-Ma" (Disque "Gramophone" – K-8170); album Guy Lombardo Plays (RCA Camden – CAL-255)
• 1958: Lou Monte, "Lazy Mary (Luna mezz 'o mare)", album Lou Monte Sings For You (Per te) (RCA Victor – LPM-1651)
• 1958: Johnny Puleo and His Harmonica Gang, "C'è la luna in mezzo mare", album Molto Italiano! (Audio Fidelity Records – AFLP 1883)
• 1960: The Mills Brothers, "Oh! Ma-Ma! (The Butcher Boy)" (Dot Records – 45-16049); 1974 album The Best of The Mills Brothers Volume II (Famous Twinsets – PAS-2-1027)
• 1961: Marianne, "Oh! Ma-Ma!" (Sonet Records – T 8109)
• 1961: Louis Prima, "Oh Ma Ma Twist" (Dot Records – 45-16301); 1962 compilation Februar I/1962 (Telefunken – MU 4)
• 1962: Marino Marini and his quartet "Oh! Ma-Ma Twist" (durium - Ld A 7201)
• 1963: Louis Prima, "Che-la-luna" (Prima Magnagroove – PS 3001); 1964 album The King of Clubs (Prima Magnagroove – PM 3003)
• 1973: Salix Alba, "Oh Mama" (Disques Vogue – VB. 278); album Salix Alba (Disques Vogue – CLPVB)
• 1975: I' Liguri, "Luna mezzo o mare", album I' Liguri (Complex IV – XPL-1055)
• 1979: De Deurzakkers, "Oh, Mama" (Philips - 6012 880)
• 1983: Stars on 45, album Star Sisters Album (Delta – DEL 7018)
• 1999: Frank Simms, "Luna mezzo mare", compilation Mickey Blue Eyes (Milan Records – 73138-35888-2)
• 2002: Enrique Rodríguez and his Orchestra, album El "Chato" Flores en el recuerdo (EMI – 7243 5 41705 2 2)
• 2005: Patrizio Buanne, "Luna mezz'o mare", album Patrizio The Italian (Universal Music TV – 9871823)
• 2013: Guido Luciani, "Luna mezzo mare", album That's amore! A night in Little Italy (Somerset Group)
• 2015: Famiglia Amica Valenza, "C'è la luna mezz'o mare"
• xxxx: Len Hughes and his Orchestra "Oh! Ma-Ma!" (Tempo - 667)
• xxxx: Kristian Haugers Danseorkester – "Oh, Ma-Ma" (Telefunken – T-8198)

References

1. Italian Book Company v. Rossi, 27 F. 2d 1014 (S.D.N.Y. 1928).
2. Shannon, Bob; Javna, John (1986). Behind the Hits: Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll. Warner Books. ISBN 978-0446381710. Archived from the original on March 28, 2010.
3. Rypens, Arnold (2010). The Originals: Prequel of the Hits. EPO. ISBN 978-9090256832. Archived from the original on June 7, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
4. "Your Hit Parade (USA) Weekly Single Charts From 1938". Hits of All Decades. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
5. "Billboard Magazine (USA) Weekly Single Charts For 1958". Hits of All Decades. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
6. Leigh, Spencer (2008). This Record Is Not to Be Broadcast, Vol. 2: 50 More Records Banned by the BBC (liner notes). Fantastic Voyage. FVDD038. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
7. "Stadium Songs: New York Mets". ESPN. August 8, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
8. "Famiglia Amica Valenza: Canzone Napoletana". MTV. Retrieved January 13, 2016.^{[dead link‍]}

See also

• Music of Sicily