Lesson 8: A man with a guitar

It is quite likely that ever since the guitar was invented (possibly in Spain in the 16th century), men have held it in their arms while serenading a beloved.

One of my students is Italian.  I wanted to play something Italian for him, but having studied both musicology and Italian Studies, I knew that Italian music changes a great deal depending of where in Italy you go. I was finally able to meet his lovely mother, who shared that she and her husband were from Naples.  Neopolitan classical songs are world-famous, being popularized by the Three Tenors who included them in their concert repertoire.


Roberto Murolo (1912-2003) spent his life collecting and celebrating the "Canzone Napoletane."  Reginella ("Queenie") is a love song written by Libero Bovio.  It's a lament accompanied by guitar, singing of a lost love.  You can read a translation here. The song is written in the Neopolitan dialect, and not immediately comprehensible to modern-day Italian-speakers.


Performing in the USA around the same time was country musician Hank Williams (1923-1953).  Williams was born in Alabama and played throughout the country.  He was taught to play guitar by Rufus Payne, a black street performer.  One of my students commented that it sounded like the blues, and I explained that this was because he learned to play from a blues guitarist.

Williams wrote and recorded the song I'm so lonesome I could cry in 1949.  Unlike Reginella, he is accompanied by electric guitar, rhythm guitar, steel guitar, bass and fiddle.

I liked pairing these songs because they are so similar.  Both use the images of birds to convey their lonely feeling.

All over the world, people listen to the birds, hold their guitars and sing of lost love.

For the drawing pages, click here.
For the lesson plan, click here.
For the visual aides, click here.

Enjoy!