Essere Umano Lyrics in English by Ligabue

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Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Essere Umano by Ligabue from Italian to English.

These lyrics have verified word for word translations. Click any lyric word to see the translation and hear the pronunciation!

Verse 1

To pick the first apple and all the other troubles

To lose your head somewhere sooner or later

To always act smart in the race with destiny

To be for the moment

To be human

Verse 2

To ask some star to take care of it

To shine with your own light and never know it

To cry and kill but in your good clothes

To be decidedly

To be human

Chorus 1

Here, it works like this

One day a nail

One day a hammer

One day a takeoff

Here, it goes on like this

One day a star

One day a laughingstock

On the most beautiful day

Verse 3

To strain your eyes where you can't see anymore

To ask yourself too many times how it's going up there

To pretend that growing up isn't a healthy process

To be for the occasion

To be human

Verse 4

To waste the time you don't have out of sheer boredom

To truly believe you know what you want

To take the antidote to take the poison

To be deeply

To be human

Chorus 2

Here, it works like this

One day a nail

One day a hammer

One day a takeoff

Here, it goes on like this

One day a rock

One day a crystal

One day a collapse

Here, it happens like this

One day a saint

One day a scourge

One day a calm day

Bridge

There's a draft in the soul

You get sick easily

When there's a draft

How much fog

Comes and goes

Verse 5

To laugh for all the good it does you

To get out of bed with someone else, why not

To feel fear and attraction for thunder

To be or not to be

But to be human

Chorus 3

Here, it proceeds like this

One day a nail

One day a hammer

One day a takeoff

Here, it goes on like this

One day an executioner

One day a brother

One day a collapse

Here, it happens like this

One day all guts

One day all brains

One day an interval

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Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Luciano Ligabue

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spiffero — draft / chill

Spiffero literally means 'draft' or 'breeze', often referring to a cold current of air coming through a crack.

In Ligabue's song, he uses it metaphorically in the line "C'è uno spiffero nell'anima" (There's a draft in the soul). This evokes a sense of vulnerability, a subtle but persistent discomfort or weakness that makes one susceptible to emotional 'illness', as he continues with "Ci si ammala facilmente quando c'è corrente" (One gets sick easily when there's a current). It's a unique and evocative image for emotional fragility.

Ligabue's "Essere Umano" is a rock anthem about the messy, contradictory, and brilliant business of being human. It's not a story with a beginning and an end, but a list of all the things we are, often at the same time. He kicks off with a reference to Adam and Eve, saying that being human is to "Cogliere la prima mela e tutti gli altri guai" (To pick the first apple and all the other troubles). From there, he lists our conflicting impulses: we try to outsmart fate, we shine without knowing it, and we can even "Piangere e uccidere ma nel vestito buono" (Cry and kill but in the good suit).

The chorus drives this point home with a series of powerful opposites. Life, he says, is a constant switch between being "Un giorno chiodo / Un giorno martello" (One day a nail / One day a hammer) or "Un giorno roccia / Un giorno cristallo" (One day rock / One day crystal). One day you're strong, the next you're fragile. One day you're the hero, the next you're the fool. The song argues that this constant change and internal conflict isn't a flaw; it's just the definition of being human.

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Ligabue Essere Umano Lyrics