Malafemmena - Totò (Antonio de Curtis)

"Malafemmena" (Evil woman) was composed in 1951 by the Neapolitan actor Totò (Antonio de Curtis) in 1951. Like "O Marenariello," which was the basis of "I Have But One Heart," a tune I posted recently, "Malafemmena" is a Canzone Napolitana, a song in the Neapolitan language, often, as in this case, a lover's complaint. The song was dedicated to the composer's wife after they separated. The lyrics are quite cutting and translations can be found on the web.

The structure of "Malafemmena" is a standard 32-bar ABAC. I have incorporated a turnaround in bars 31-32 and a two bar coda to finish the song.

There are many performances on Youtube. The one by Roberto Murolo (look for a man with a guitar) has a translation of the Neapolitan lyrics. He plays it as a tango, as do other Italian performers. A performance by Al Martino, of "Godfather" fame is also worth hearing. I knew and performed this song in the 1960s as a rhumba. I now perform it with the iRP Latin - Cuba: Bolero style at 110 bpm, but it also works using the Argentina: Tango style.

Malafemmena - Toto (Antonio de Curtis)