Italy in Verse

by Brian FitzGerald


Giuseppe Garibaldi and his thousand troops in red
Imagine all those redshirts and all the bloodshed
His mission he accomplished easier said than done
In 1860 Italy became a nation one

After Positano we stopped to have a bite
We were led into a sun lit room, what a beautiful sight
In the shadow of Mount Vesuvius with the rocks and sea below
It was wine, woman and song and the rising of the dough

We were stopped on our way to Pompei, a demonstration in the rain
The striking workers blocked the road, we were forced to take the train
We walked into the holy shrine, the air inside was cold
Holy Spirit fill this house, let love unfold

Dumping forty feet of Vulcan ash Vesuvius blew her nose
See the ancient ruins for 20 euros
From the bath house to the brothel upon this bumpy road
Pompei dumped her waste by the bucket load

On the rocks of the blue lizard, symbol of Capri
They used to light the fires to warn the ships at sea
Tiberius built a castle over looking Salerno bay
The monastery is now a school, a prison yesterday

We walked among the crocus on a carpeting of moss
To the highest point of the island, the Stations of the Cross
When we got back to the bottom, we marveled at our climb
We had to rush to catch the boat, just in time

Outside the royal castle I felt human again
'Neath the pink umbrella in the garden in the rain
Thanks to the fountain statues, Diana's vengeance is well portrayed
The hunter now the hunted by his own dogs betrayed

Take a team of Luigis they couldn't do what Enza does
There’s a woman who knows how to give, she knows because
 Long ago at the end of her rope, she found her guiding light
A force of nature you know it’s right

They call me limoncello, I'm different wherever you go
Up and down the Amalfi Coast in the shop window
In Michigan it's fudge fudge fudge the tourists are bringing home
Here it's limoncello they're hauling out of Rome