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“Tu vuò fà l'americano” meaning

Renato Carosone · 1956 · 🇮🇹 Naples · Level B1

Renato Carosone's 1956 Neapolitan swing: a young man in Naples trying to act American — paid for by his mum.

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What the song is about

“Tu vuò fà l'americano” (you want to act American) is a comic song in Neapolitan about a young man in post-war Naples who copies everything American: he wears a baseball cap, drinks whisky and soda, dances rock and roll, smokes American cigarettes — but it's his mother who pays for it all, and how is he going to woo a local girl when he can't even speak properly?

Renato Carosone released it in 1956 and it became an international swing classic, later used in films and in a famous electro-swing remix.

The lyrics are in Neapolitan, a language close to Italian but different, so it's B1: “vuò fà” is Italian “vuoi fare”. Learn a few Neapolitan words and the joke becomes clear.

Slang and key words

The slang and key words to know before you listen. Words with an arrow have their own slang page.

Learn Italian with “Tu vuò fà l'americano”

Level B1 · Neapolitan, funny, rhythmic

Lyrics and translationComing soon

Synced lyrics with a line-by-line translation, every word explained and the slang decoded — coming soon. Save the song in Solang and you’ll have them the moment they open.

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