"Tu vuo' fa' l'americano" is a Napolitano swing/jazz song from the 1950s/60s written by Renato Carosone, which has recently regained popularity by means of a remix also known as "Fa' L'Americano".
The song refers to an Italian who tries desperately to be "American". He
eats hot dogs, loves baseball, and speaks in whatever English he
knows, but at the end of the day he still lives with his parents and his
spending money comes from mommy's purse. The classic Italian
"Mammone" or Mama's boy.
In the chorus:
Tu vuo' fa' l'americano, You want to do the American,
Ma sei nat' in Italy But you were born in Italy
I immediately felt a soft spot growing for this song, even before they
started playing it 3 times a day, simply because of this one line. After
all isn't that precisely what I'm doing, only in
reverse? I may live, eat, and speak Italian, but I will always be the American
girl who grew up in Alaska.
However, where this song is more prone to prendere in giro (make
fun of) the wannabe American, I
prefer to think of myself as absorbing the best of both cultures. It's
not as simple as dumping one for the other.
So I changed the title to it's feminine form (last I checked I wasn't an American boy) and made it my blog identity. Alessio is of the opinion that I should have written "Fa L'Italiana"
instead, but I don't think it has quite the right ring. Anyway I'm not
trying to be Italian as opposed to American.
I'm simply doing my American thing... in Italy.
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