"Blimey, it was the riding wot did it"

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The great Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi, by profession an ocean-going shipmaster and self-taught both as a general and as a political leader, had one major fault: a complete lack of good taste. He wrote a few execrable novels (at least, I think they are execrable; I could never get beyond their first terrible few pages) and had a song written for his volunteers which, until now, I had found just as uninspired. However, I have now heard it sung by Enrico Caruso. It may be that this recording was made in the dark days of 1917 as Caruso's native country was fighting to survive against Austrian invaders (the flip side is George M.Cohan's Over there!, in English and French), but mostly it is just incredible musicality that can really turn lead into gold, and a voice that, even through the inadequate medium, comes through like the thunder of the gods. Have a listen:

This really gave me goosebumps. I once heard a story about a jockey condemned for murder on very thin evidence, who, referring to the formidable advocacy of the prosecuting attorney, said: "Blimey! It was the riding wot did it." In this case, it really is.

Comments

[nacktmull70.livejournal.com]

I suppose that it really is for the best, to close this thread. You and I live in very, very different worlds, and - sadly - it is not to be expected that we would reach some sort of understanding, even if we went on for a long time with this.