O Sole Mio By Various - Songfacts

Toggle navigation

• Home
• Categories
• Places
• Blog
  • Blogs Home
  • News
  • Lists
  • Features
  • Songwriter Interviews
  • Song Writing
  • Fact or Fiction
  • They're Playing My Song
  • Music Quiz
  • Songfacts Pages
  • Songwriting Legends
  • Songfacts Podcast
  • All Titles
  • Authors
    • Amanda Flinner
    • April Fox
    • Bruce Pollock
    • Carl Wiser
    • Corey O'Flanagan
    • Dan MacIntosh
    • Developer
    • Ed Pearce
    • Greg Prato
    • Jeff Suwak
    • Jess Grant
    • Laura Antonelli
    • Leslie Michele Derrough
    • Maggie Grimason
    • Nicole Roberge
    • Roger Catlin
    • Shawna Ortega
    • Stephanie Myers
    • Trevor Morelli
• Browse
  • Songs
  • Artists
  • Places
  • Years
  • Categories

Search

O Sole Mioby Various

Album: various (1898) License This Song  lyrics

Songfacts®:

• The words "o sole mio" mean "my sun" or "my sunshine" in the Neapolitan language, which is a used in parts of Italy, the nation where this song was written. "O Sole Mio" may in fact be the most famous Neapolitan-language song of all time. Over 150 after the song was written, artists in Europe, the United States, and all over the world continue to perform and record it.
• This is a love song. It starts talking about a sunny day and quickly turns to describing the sun beaming from a lover's face and then about watching her up in her window. The song closes with the singer weirdly declaring that he would stay below his love's window after the sun goes down. What exactly that means is unclear to our modern sensibilities, but almost certainly was not nearly as creepy as it sounds today.
• Giovanni Capurro, one of Italy's most celebrated poets, wrote the lyrics. He presented it to Eduardo di Capua, who brought the music to the words. For almost 75 years it went unknown that Capua had based his song off of a melody he purchased from Alfredo Mazzucchi sometime in 1897. Capua build upon that melody significantly, but it was not originally his. Eventually, Mazzucchi's role was uncovered and his daughter fought for him to get credit. The matter wasn't settled until October of 2002, when the Italian court decided to legally give Mazzucchi credit.
• Charles W. Harrison did the first English translation of the song in 1915.
• This song has been recorded hundreds of times, with renditions by Vic Damone, Enrico Caruso, Mario Lanza, Bing Crosby, and many others.In 1980, Luciano Pavarotti's performance of "O Sole Mio" won him a Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance.
• Elvis Presley's "It's Now or Never" is based on this song.

• More songs from Various
• More songs that were also recorded in other languages
• More songs covered by Elvis Presley
• More songs from 1898
• Lyrics to O Sole Mio

Your name as you would like it displayed Your Locaton Your Comment send your comment

Comments

Be the first to comment...

More Songfacts:

Strawberry Letter 23The Brothers Johnson

"Strawberry Letter 23" by The Brothers Johnson was written by Shuggie Otis, whose girlfriend would send him letters written on strawberry-scented paper.

(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The BayOtis Redding

Otis Redding often ad-libbed vocals at the end of songs, but for "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" he just whistled instead - it became some of the most famous whistling in song history.

Somewhere Out ThereLinda Ronstadt and James Ingram

The hit duet "Somewhere Out There" was written for an animated film about a family of immigrant mice who lose one of their young.

Carrie AnneThe Hollies

The Hollies' 1967 hit "Carrie Anne" is about the British singer-actress Marianne Faithfull, but with "Marianne" changed to "Carrie-Anne" to disguise it. Faithfull dated Allan Clarke of The Hollies.

Sharp Dressed ManZZ Top

ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man" was the first video that was a sequel. It picked up the storyline of their "Gimme All Your Lovin'" video about a guy who encounters three beautiful women.

I Just Called To Say I Love YouStevie Wonder

"I Just Called To Say I Love You" is Stevie Wonder's best-selling single worldwide. It topped the Hot 100, AC, R&B and UK charts all in the same week.

Editor's Picks

How "A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss" Became Rock's Top ProverbSong Writing

How a country weeper and a blues number made "rolling stone" the most popular phrase in rock.

Richie McDonald of LonestarSongwriter Interviews

Richie talks about the impact of "Amazed," and how his 4-year-old son inspired another Lonestar hit.

David GraySongwriter Interviews

David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.

Gavin Rossdale of BushSongwriter Interviews

On the "schizoid element" of his lyrics, and a famous line from "Everything Zen."

Name the Character in the SongMusic Quiz

With a few clues (Works at a diner, dreams of running away), can you name the character in the song?

Songfacts® Newsletter

A monthly update on our latest interviews, stories and added songs

What's your email? SUBSCRIBE

Information

• About Us
• Terms of Service
• Our Privacy Policy
• Google Privacy Policy
• Songfacts API
• Music History Calendar
• Song Licensing
• Affiliate Disclosure
• Contact Us
• Privacy Manager

Follow Us

• Facebook
• X (Twitter)
• YouTube

Contribution

• Message Boards
• Songfacts Writers

©2026 Songfacts, LLC