S’i’ fosse foco

By Cecco Angiolieri¹


S’i’ fosse fuoco, ardereï ‘l mondo;	If I were fire, I’d burn the world;
s’i’ fosse vento, lo tempestarei;	if I were wind, I’d tempest it;
s’i’ fosse acqua, i’ l’annegherei;	if I were water, I’d drown it;
s’i’ fosse Dio, mandereil en profondo;	if I were God, I’d send it to the depths;


s’i’ fosse papa, allor serei giocondo,	if I were the pope, then I’d be happy;
ché tutti cristïani imbrigarei;	since I would mess with all the christians;
s’i’ fosse ‘mperator, sa’ che farei?	if I were the emperor, do you know what I’d do?
a tutti tagliarei lo capo a tondo.	I’d lop clean off everybody’s head.


S’i’ fosse morte, andarei a mi’ padre;	If I were death, I’d go to my father;
s’i’ fosse vita, non starei con lui:	if I were life, I would not stay with him:
similemente faria da mi’ madre,	similarly I’d do with my mother,


S’i’ fosse Cecco, com ‘i’ sono e fui,	If I were Cecco, as I am and I have been,
torrei le donne giovani e leggiadre:	I’d take the young and lithe women:
le zoppe e vecchie lasserei altrui.	the lame and old I’d leave to the others.