Emilio Pericoli's famous hit was the 1962 film Rome Adventure although it was not the title song for the movie.

The movie starred Suzanne Pleshett and Troy Donahue. The plot was about a lonely school teacher who takes a vacation in Italy and falls in love with a guy. In one scene, they are at a posh nightclub and Emilio Pericoli is the nightclub performer where he sings Al Di La. It is all in Italian and he has a fantastic voice, almost operatic, and the lyrics are real romantic. She asks what does Al Di La mean. Troy answers, "It's kind of hard to explain. It means 'far far away,' beyond the beyond,' 'beyond this world.' That's how much she loves her in this song."

Because many of the girls on the East Coast, Philly, NJ, and NYC can understand Italian, the song was a instant success plus the romantic scene from the movie, a real tear jerker. Many U.S. singers at the time cut a recording such as Connie Francis, Jerry Vale, Vic Damone and a few others. Methinks Pericoli might have tried some other songs but they never caught on like Al Di La (a real favorite of the Ol'Kunnel.)

English translation by John Kenny

 

Al di la means you are far above me, very far Al di la, as distant as the lovely evening star Where you walk flowers bloom When you smile all the gloom turns to sunshine And my heart opens wide When you're gone it fades inside and seems to have died Al di la, I wondered as I drifted where you were Al di la, the fog around me lifted, there you were In the kiss that I gave was the love I had saved for a lifetime Then I knew all of you was completely mine.

Al di lá del bene più prezioso, ci sei tu. Al di lá del sogno più ambizioso, ci sei tu. Al di lá delle cose più belle. Al di lá delle stelle, ci sei tu. Al di lá, ci sei tu per me, per me, soltanto per me. Al di lá del mare più profondo, ci sei tu. Al di lá de i limiti del mondo, ci sei tu. Al di lá della volta infinita, al di la della vita. Ci sei tu, al di la, ci sei tu per me. La la la la la... La la la... (Ci sei tu...)

Nota Bene: The Ol'Kunnel tips his beanie to Katrina for supplying the Italian lyrics.

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