Santa Lucia is a traditional Neapolitan song. It was transcribed by Teodoro Cottrau (1827–1879) and published by the Cottrau firm, as a "barcarolla", at Naples in 1849. Cottrau translated it from Napuletano into Italian during the first stage of the Risorgimento, the first Neapolitan song to be given Italian lyrics. Its transcriber, who is very often credited as its composer, was the son of the French-born Italian composer and collector of songs Guillaume Louis Cottrau (1797–1847).
The Neapolitan lyrics of "Santa Lucia" celebrate the picturesque waterfront district, Borgo Santa Lucia, in the Bay of Naples, in the invitation of a boatman to take a turn in his boat, the better to enjoy the cool of the evening.
In the United States, an early edition of the song, with an English translation by Thomas Oliphant, was published by M. McCaffrey, Baltimore. Perhaps the definitive 20th century recording of the song was that of Enrico Caruso, the great Neapolitan opera singer.
The song has also been recorded by Elvis Presley on the 1965 album Elvis for Everyone.
In Sweden, Denmark and Norway, "Santa Lucia" has been given various lyrics to accommodate it to the winter-light festival of Saint Lucy, at the darkest time of the year. The three most famous lyrics versions in Swedish are LuciasÃ¥ngen, aka Sankta Lucia, ljusklara hägring (“Saint Lucy, bright illusionâ€), Natten gÃ¥r tunga fjät (“The night walks with heavy stepsâ€) and the 1970s "Kindergarten" version Ute är mörkt och kallt (“Outside it’s dark and coldâ€).
In the Czech Republic (or former Czechoslovakia), it was made famous with the words Krásná je Neapol sung by Waldemar Matuška.
In Thailand the song became the anthem of Silpakorn University, as the founder of the university, Corrado Feroci, or later called Silpa Bhirasri, was Italian. But only the first verse is sung. The song is also sung in Thai. The title of Thai version of the song is Silpakorn Niyom (ศิลปาà¸à¸£à¸™à¸´à¸¢à¸¡).
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