PARTENOPE Lyrics in English by Merk & Kremont, The Kolors, Serena Brancale

Partenope is a fascinating word because it refers to the ancient Greek name for the city of Naples, Italy. It's a deep cut for anyone interested in Italian culture and history, making it unique to this song's setting.

In the lyrics, "Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Partenope" is a direct reference to Naples, the city where the song is set. It evokes a strong sense of place and local identity, hinting at the vibrant atmosphere and unique charm of the city that is central to the song's narrative.

Partenope is the old Greek name for Naples, and Merk & Kremont use it here the way you would use a girl's name. The song is built on one distance: "Che da lì, con la Piazza Bellini, c'è di mezzo il mare" [Because from there, from Piazza Bellini, there's a whole sea in between]. Someone is leaving, still in a salt-stained football shirt from the beach, and the singer cannot get the goodbye to sit still: "Quindi te ne vai, non ci posso pensare" [So you're leaving, I can't bear to think about it]. Then the chorus admits the thing he has been dancing around. "Il lungomare è una sfilata" [The seafront is a catwalk], and one line later, "Ma tu sei fidanzata" [But you're taken].

Serena Brancale's verse drags the song further south, to her own city: "C'è un teatro in mezzo al mare, sembra Bari, è casa mia" [There's a theatre out in the sea, it looks like Bari, it's my home]. She reaches for "la saudade di un'estate" [the saudade of a summer] and borrows the word from Portuguese, because Italian has no single word for wanting a season back. The hook is not standard Italian either: "Oh Signore, oh Signore, basta 'na jurnata 'e sole" [Oh Lord, oh Lord, one day of sunshine is enough] is Neapolitan, and "'na jurnata 'e sole" is the same phrase that has carried Neapolitan songs about weather and heartbreak for a century. Between the two of them the song never settles on whether it is homesick or just flirting.