Un Sorriso Dentro Al Pianto Lyrics in English by Ornella Vanoni
Schianto means a violent crash or impact, making it a vivid and memorable Italian word. In the song, “poco prima di uno schianto” means “just before a crash,” symbolizing the intense emotional tension beneath the singer’s smile and suggesting that overwhelming feelings may be on the verge of breaking apart.
Ornella Vanoni’s song looks at a person who refuses to reduce her life to a perfect photograph. She jokes about posing for “l’ennesima fotografia” [yet another photograph] and asks for the best camera angle, then points to the modern habit of using a selfie to show everything to everyone. The joke turns sharper with “Ce la incorniciamo? O la butto via?” [Shall we frame it, or should I throw it away?] A photo can preserve a moment, but it cannot explain the person inside it. For her, words set to music have been better company, especially when facing stupidity, because “abbiamo ancora l’allegria” [we still have cheerfulness].
At the heart of the song is the beautiful contradiction “un sorriso dentro al pianto” [a smile inside the crying]. The speaker is made from all the love she has given, including “tutto l’amore incondizionato” [all the unconditional love], embarrassment hidden behind pride, a stormy sea, a starry sky, and the instant before a crash. She is “in equilibrio sopra a un’emozione” [balanced on top of an emotion], an experience that can change a person’s whole existence but cannot be fully explained. When someone asks her to smile, she admits, “vorrei dimenticare” [I would like to forget], while “ferite da leccare” [wounds to lick] uses an Italian expression for tending to one’s own hurts and slowly recovering. The song’s charm is that the smile is neither fake nor simple: it survives right inside the tears.
