In “Nel blu dipinto di blu” (in the blue painted blue), Domenico Modugno describes a dream: he painted his hands and face blue, and suddenly he was flying, higher and higher, happy, in the infinite sky. Then he wakes up — and finds the same blue in the eyes of the woman he loves.
The song won the Sanremo Festival in 1958, came third at Eurovision, and then topped the charts in the United States; it won the very first Grammy Awards for Record and Song of the Year. The world knows it by its chorus word: “Volare”, to fly.
It's slow, joyful and built on a few repeated words, which makes it perfect for beginners. Every Italian knows it; sing “volare, oh oh” in Italy and someone will answer.