testo di Jacopo Bassi, traduzioni di Gianluca Canè

voci di Jacopo Bassi e Gianluca Canè

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Johnny Cash, One Piece at a Time, in One Piece at a Time, 1976
testo di Wayne Kemp

Well, I left Kentucky back in forty nine An’ went to Detroit workin’ on a ’sembly line The first year they had me puttin’ wheels on Cadillacs Every day I’d watch them beauties roll by And sometimes I’d hang my head and cry ’Cause I always wanted me one that was long and black. One day I devised myself a plan That should be the envy of most any man I’d sneak it out of there in a lunchbox in my hand Now gettin’ caught meant gettin’ fired But I figured I’d have it all by the time I retired I’d have me a car worth at least a hundred grand. I’d get it one piece at a time And it wouldn’t cost me a dime You’ll know it’s me when I come through your town I’m gonna ride around in style I’m gonna drive everybody wild ’Cause I’ll have the only one there is around. So the very next day when I punched in With my big lunchbox and with help from my friends I left that day with a lunch box full of gears I’ve never considered myself a thief But GM wouldn’t miss just one little piece Especially if I strung it out over several years. The first day I got me a fuel pump And the next day I got me an engine and a trunk Then I got me a transmission and all the chrome The little things I could get in my big lunchbox Like nuts, an’ bolts, and all four shocks But the big stuff we snuck out in my buddy’s mobile home. Now, up to now my plan went all right ’Til we tried to put it all together one night And that’s when we noticed that something was definitely wrong. The transmission was a fifty three And the motor turned out to be a seventy three And when we tried to put in the bolts all the holes were gone. So we drilled it out so that it would fit And with a little bit of help with an adapter kit We had that engine runnin’ just like a song Now the headlight’ was another sight We had two on the left and one on the right But when we pulled out the switch all three of ’em come on. The back end looked kinda funny too But we put it together and when we got through

Well, that’s when we noticed that we only had one tail-fin About that time my wife walked out And I could see in her eyes that she had her doubts But she opened the door and said “Honey, take me for a spin.” So we drove up town just to get the tags And I headed her right on down main drag I could hear everybody laughin’ for blocks around But up there at the court house they didn’t laugh ’Cause to type it up it took the whole staff And when they got through the title weighed sixty pounds. I got it one piece at a time And it wouldn’t cost me a dime You’ll know it’s me when I come through your town I’m gonna ride around in style I’m gonna drive everybody wild ’Cause I’ll have the only one there is around. Ugh! Yeah, red ryder This is the cotton mouth In the psycho-Billy Cadillac Come on Huh, This is the cotton mouth And negatory on the cost of this mow-chine there red ryder You might say I went right up to the factory And picked it up, it’s cheaper that way Ugh!, what model is it? Well, It’s a ’49, ’50, ’51, ’52, ’53, ’54, ’55, ’56 ’57, ’58’ 59’ automobile It’s a ’60, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67 ’68, ’69, ’70 automobile.

Blondie, Detroit 442, in Plastic Letters, 1978
testo di Jimmy Destri, Chris Stein

You know he can’t be tested, he can’t be read or found Urban grey takes breath away, he wants to push his pedal to the ground And the night’s what’s right, puts him at the wheel Well, I eat danger, any stranger is all right Feel hot to go like Jimmy O, dodging flying objects at the show And the lights make me fight In Detroit 442, maybe, baby, I could ride with you This town’s a concrete factory and Dad and Mum look just like me I’m on the plant assembly line. Too late now. Too far behind You said you wanna hang around, no-one really cares where you go Take your time. Things never change In Detroit 442, maybe, baby, I could ride with you In Detroit 442, maybe, baby, I could ride with you In Detroit 442, maybe, baby, I could ride with you

In Detroit 442, maybe, baby, I could ride with you One more to market, one more piggie, and they all, they all look just like me, yeah

Was (not was), Out Come the Freaks, in Was (not was), 1981
testo di David Was, Don Was

Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks When the sun goes down they hit the streets in the bars to try and meet Some other stranger to ease the pain Of living alone till it drives them insane The woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks Yeah, the woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks Like little Michael on his motorcycle with leather pants and a leather brain He ain’t never been the same since Vietnam Keeps his heart locked-up in a vest and his eyes inside his shoes Doesn’t ever want to lose them in a fight You never know what might go down tonight Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks Open the door and there’s Suzanne, she eats her breakfast from the pan She never even burns her tongue And someday she’d like to get hung up on a millionaire She don’t even care if he ain’t got no hair She says: “Long as he signs the checks” I figure what the heck, I’ll get him a toupee. What more can you say? Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks (Ha ha ha ha) Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks Detroit Johnny don’t wear no tie, ’cause he says it hurts his neck He’s got a chick from Ecuador tonight She wants to talk about the moon, she says it used to be her friend

But the doctors put an end to all of that (A part of me is lost for good, do you really understand?) I do says Johnny as he grabs her hand Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks Woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks Out come the freaks… Out come the freaks… Out come the freaks… Out come the freaks… Out come the freaks… Out come the freaks… Out come the freaks… Out come the freaks… Out come the freaks… Out come the freaks… Out come the freaks… Out come the freaks… Out come the freaks…

George Clinton, Atomic Dog, in Computer Games, 1982
testo di George Clinton, Garry Shider, David Spradley

Yeah, this is a story of a famous dog For the dog that chases its tail will be dizzy These are clapping dogs, rhythmic dogs Harmonic dogs, house dogs, street dogs Dog of the world unite Dancin’ dogs Yeah, countin’ dogs, funky dogs Nasty dogs (Dog) Atomic dog Atomic dog Like the boys When they’re out there walkin’ the streets May compete Nothin’ but the dog in ya Bow-wow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah Bow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah Bow-wow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah Bow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah Like the boys When they’re out there walkin’ the streets May compete Nothin’ but the dog in ya Why must I feel like that? Oh, why must I chase the cat Like the boys When they’re out there walkin’ the streets May compete Nothin’ but the dog in ya Ruff Ruff Ruff Why must I feel like that? Why must I chase the cat? Nothin’ but the dog in me Nothin’ but the dog in me Why must I feel like that? Why must I chase the cat? Nothin’ but the dog in me Nothin’ but the dog in me Why must I feel like that? Why must I chase the cat? Nothin’ but the dog in me Why must I feel like that? Why must I chase the cat? Nothin’ but the dog in me Do the dogcatcher, dogcatcher Do the dogcatcher Do the dogcatcher, dogcatcher Do the dogcatcher Do the dogcatcher, baby, do the dogcatcher Ooh Why must I feel like that?

Why must I chase the cat? Nothin’ but the dog in me Why must I feel like that? Why must I chase the cat? Nothin’ but the dog in me Bow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah Bow-wow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah Bow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah Just walkin’ the dog Oh, atomic dog Futuristic bow-wow Ruff Leader of the pack Wild dog Why must I feel like that? Why must I chase the cat? Just the dog in me Nothin’ but the dog in me Why must I feel like that? Why must I chase the cat? Just the dog in me Nothin’ but the dog in me Why must I feel like that? Why must I chase the cat? The dog in me (Dog in me) The dog is in me (Dog in me) Do the dogcatcher, dogcatcher Do the dogcatcher Do you wanna do the dogcatcher Well, baby, why don’t you do it again for me? Dogcatcher, dogcatcher Do the dogcatcher House-trained dogs Wild dogs Say it again Why must I feel like that? Why must I chase the cat?

The Rockets, Born in Detroit, in Rocket Roll, 1982

Testo non disponibile

Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Like a Rock, in Like a Rock, 1986
testo di Bob Seger

Stood there boldly Sweatin’ in the sun Felt like a million Felt like number one The height of summer I’d never felt that strong Like a rock I was eighteen Didn’t have a care Working for peanuts Not a dime to spare But I was lean and Solid everywhere Like a rock My hands were steady My eyes were clear and bright My walk had purpose My steps were quick and light And I held firmly To what I felt was right Like a rock Like a rock, I was strong as I could be Like a rock, nothin’ ever got to me Like a rock, I was something to see Like a rock And I stood arrow straight Unencumbered by the weight Of all these hustlers and their schemes I stood proud, I stood tall High above it all I still believed in my dreams Twenty years now

Where’d they go? Twenty years I don’t know Sit and I wonder sometimes Where they’ve gone And sometimes late at night When I’m bathed in the firelight The moon comes callin’ a ghostly white And I recall I recall Like a rock. standin’ arrow straight Like a rock, chargin’ from the gate Like a rock, carryin’ the weight Like a rock Like a rock, the sun upon my skin Like a rock, hard against the wind Like a rock, I see myself again Like a rock

Bibliografia

• DARDEN, Joe T., THOMAS, Richard Walter, Detroit: race riots, racial conflicts, and efforts to bridge the racial divide, East Lansing, Michigan State University Press, 2013.
• IACOCCA, Lee A., KLEINFIELD, Sonny, Talking straight, Toronto-New York, Bantam, 1988.
• IACOCCA, Lee A., NOVAK, William, Iacocca: an Autobiography, Toronto-New York, Bantam Books, 1994.
• IACOCCA, Lee A., SEEGER, Matthew W., I gotta tell you: speeches of Lee Iacocca, Detroit, Wayne University Press, 1994.
• LEDUFF, Charlie, Detroit : an American autopsy, New York, Penguin Press, 2013.
• MANNING THOMAS, June, BEKKERING, Henco, Mapping Detroit: land, community, and shaping a city, Detroit, Wayne University Press, 2015.
• MARTELLE, Scott, Detroit: A Biography, Chicago, Chicago Review Press, 2012.
• MCGRAW, Bill, «Life in the Ruins of Detroit», in History Workshop Journal, 63, 1/2007, pp. 288-302.
• ONO, Kenichi, The Economic Development of Japan The Path Traveled by Japan as a Developing Country, Tokio, Grips, 2006.
• PATTISON, Mark, RAGLIN, David, Detroit Tigers 1984: What a start! What a finish!, Phoenix (AZ), Society for American Baseball Research, 2012.
• RICE, Jeff, Digital Detroit. Rhetoric and space in the age of the network, Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Press, 2010.

Sitografia

• AAJA Asian American Journalists Association, URL: < http://www.aaja.org/ >.
• Detroit Historical Society, URL: < http://detroithistorical.org/ >.
• A History of Violence: the Detroit Police Department, the African American Community and the Undercover Decoy Unit Know as S.T.R.E.S.S.: “An Army of Occupation or an Army under Seige?”, URL : < https://dougmerriman.org/ >.

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