Luca was gay: The lyrics in English

I posted in December, 2008 about the controversy in Italy regarding an ex-gay song to be sung in the Italian music festival, Sanremo by Italian artist, Povia. Up to now, the lyrics to the song not known. We now have them here.
Thanks to a translation by Emiliano Lambiase, I can now post the lyrics to Luca Era Gay (Luca Was Gay), the song sparking all the fuss.

INTRO:
Luca was gay and now he’s together with her, Luca speaks from his heart, Luca says I’m another man.
1st VERSE:
Luca says: Before telling you about my sexual change, I want to clarify that if I believe in God I can’t recognise myself in human thought which is divided on this matter, I haven’t gone to psychologists, psychiatrists, priests nor scientists.
I’ve gone into my past, delved into it and found out a lot about myself.
My mother had too much love for me, her love turned into full obsession with her convictions, her attentions wouldn’t let me breathe.
My father used to take no decisions and I could never talk with him, he was away at work all day, but I had the feeling that wasn’t the truth, that’s why Mum asked for divorce, I was 12 and didn’t
really understand my father, he said ‘that’s the right solution’ and started to drink after sometime.
Mum always spoke badly of Dad to me and used to say ‘never get married, for God’s sake.
She was sick jealous of my girlfriends and my identity was growing confused.
Chorus:
Luca was gay and now he’s together with her, Luca speaks from his heart, Luca says I’m another man
Luca was gay and now he’s together with her, Luca speaks from his heart, Luca says I’m another man.
2nd VERSE:
I’m another man now, but at that time I was looking for answers, I was ashamed so looked for my answers in hiding, some used to say ‘it’s natural.’
I studied Freud and he didn’t think the same, then high school finished but I didn’t know what happiness was, a big man made my heart shake and that’s when I knew I was a homosexual.
I had no inhibitions with him, he courted me and I thought that was love, yes with him I could feel myself, but then it became like a competition on who made the best sex.
I felt guilty, sooner or later they’ll catch him, but if evidence disappears he’ll be acquitted.
I was looking for who my father was in men, and I used to go with men not to betray my mother.
2nd Chorus:
Luca was gay and now he’s together with her, Luca speaks from his heart. Luca says I’m another man.
Luca was gay and now he’s together with her, Luca speaks from his heart, Luca says I’m another man.
SPECIAL:
Luca says: For 4 years I’d been with a man through love and deceptions, we often betrayed each other.
I was still looking for my truth, that big eternal love, then I met her at a party, among a lot of people, she had nothing to do with it all, she listened to me, undressed me, understood me. I only remember that I missed her the day after.
This is my story, only my story, no illness, no recovery.
Dear Dad, I’ve forgiven you even though you’ve never come back here.
Mum, I often think of you and I love you, and sometimes still see your reflection.
But now I’ve become a father and I’m in love with the only woman I’ve ever loved.
Final Chorus:
Luca was gay and now he’s together with her, Luca speaks from his heart, Luca says I’m another man.
Luca was gay and now he’s together with her, Luca speaks from his heart, Luca says I’m another man.

That is a long song, or at least it seems like it would be from the length of the story involved. Has a little reparative therapy feel to it with the parents involved but it also says, “no illness, no recovery” which is not consistent with that framework.
Luca Era Gay might be considered in the a Because of You genre.
UPDATE: This blogger has what he claims is a more accurate translation.
Peter Ould wonders if Luca was gay after all…

19 thoughts on “Luca was gay: The lyrics in English”

  1. Charts:
    Suisse: Peak Nr. 51 from 2009-03-08, 2 Weeks in Top-100
    Italian: Peak Nr. 3 from 2009-02-26 4 Weeks in Top-20

  2. “Everyone defends his own truth”

    Really? Than everything Al-Qaeda is doing is ok. They are just defending there own truth…

  3. Fifth poster: “We take ourselves too seriously ;-)” (“Ci prendiamo troppo sul serio ;-)”)

  4. At the end of the 3rd (unplugged) performance Povia positioned another poster: “Serenity is better than happiness”. This is a message for Franco Grillini (Arcigay Honorary President) who said tuesday night to Povia: “Povia, learn what happiness is”.
    “Nessuno in fondo sa com’e’ fatto un altro” appeared at the end of the first performance and “Nessuno ha sempre ragione” at the end of the second one.
    Tonight the final performance …

  5. I’ve heard numerous conventional songs over the years that tell of a guy’s first ‘all the way’ experience with a girl being in the backseat of a car. I suspect that a number of them were based on the reality of the writer’s experience but I’m also sure that a number of songs simply picked up on the ‘back seat Becky’ theme.
    In evaluating the merits (or lack thereof) of this song, I think David said it best. If it’s an anecdotal telling of one man’s actual experience, then it needs to be considered for it’s telling of an unconventional story. However, if it was the result of reading a bit of reparative therapy and then trying to manufacture a story that fit that theme, it’s little more than propaganda.
    If it’s the former, it makes sense that someone who had such a change in desire and self-identification would want to figure out what ‘set them up’ to become involved in a behavior, identification and lifestyle that was mistaken. Was he ‘really gay’ to begin with or was he a straight person that took a several year detour into homosexuality? If a counselor or therapist has a pre-conceived notion of the answer to this individual’s life journey, the integrity of their therapy would be questionable.

  6. The blogger link has what I think is a better translation. This one is more of a summary. But I understand that translating is difficult and the translation of phrases and words depends upon the interpretation and perspective of what the translator thinks it should mean within the context.
    I think the chorus is really cute from the Italian lyrics. I’m not fluent but isn’t Luca era gay mean Luca used to be gay

  7. Fg68at,
    I must correct my translation:
    Come è fatto means ‘how it’s made.’ In this song it should mean ‘how someone else is made’, what is their nature.
    I think it’s clear now.
    PS. I got mislead by the pronounciation, since I understand Italian but cannot speak it. My first translation, if correct, should have been spelled in the original text ‘come ha fatto’ which sounded very close to my ears.

  8. Fg68at,
    I’ll give it a try.
    The first line you quoted must be (corrected):

    Nessuno in fondo sa com’e’ fatto un altro

    It means: No one knows, after all, how someone else did it. (dealt with it)

    (2) Nessuno ha sempre Ragione

    Means: No one is always right.

  9. Has a little reparative therapy feel to it

    A little? I must don’t understand RepTher. Because for me ist is full of arguments from RepTher. Only he was not at a Therapist. But he must have read a book from an Psychiater.

    but it also says, “no illness, no recovery” which is not consistent with that framework.

    But very common. At last the german Ex-Gay-Protagonists say: SSA/Homosexuality is not an illness. We don’t cure it, because it is not an illness. It is only a symptom of an illness, of a neurose. We cure the neurose. And then we have evidence that many goes straight, are free from SSA/homosexuality.
    I agree with Lynn David and mostly with Ann.

    She was jealous of my girlfriends; it felt so unhealthy.

    Sure, I could be myself, but then the sex became a competition.

    Was he gay or did he think he was gay? It’s sound like “I was heterosexual and now i become gay.” Also nonense. When there is nothing before, then someone can not “become” gay. It sounds like the people which say: “I’m completly bisexual”, but can only have sex with men and emotional relationship only with women.
    “I think i was gay, but it was not really right for me and i fall in love with a girl”. Thats OK. But the other things.
    And espiacially Freud.

    There were people who told me, “It’s natural,” but I studied Freud and I knew he didn’t see it that way.

    There is this letter at the Kinsey institute from Freud to a mother, which ask for help to cure her son. He wrote that there is not much hope for this. And in 1920 Über die Psychogenese eines Falles von weiblicher Homosexualität he wrote about a 19yo women that there is so much hope to change here to straight, as there is hope to do it otherwise. “Only that this had never one try, because of practical matter.”
    Somewhile ago i search of van der Aardweg. The most hints in the Web was in italian. The second most seems Nicolosi. Both are roman-catholic.
    Here (1) is the appearance on TV (picture and sound synchrone). Here (2) is a not so good. but it must on another day. The plate at the end is another.

    (1) Nessuno in fondo sa com’e’ fatto und altro

    (2) Nessuno ha sempre Ragione

    Can someone translate this two? I love some of the music in the video. But – in don’t know what – something is there in the mimic of Povia, that i don’t like.
    Albano Carrisi (I love some music from him) says these days in the discussion: Because he is religious roman-catholic he is against gay prides. Link A man who is divorced and had two children with his now Ex-girlfriend. At the rules of the church he had to stay chastely .
    This article say that before Povia was comedian Roberto Benigni on the stage. He take care of media-mogul Silvio Berlusconi and say something against homophobia. He says something broadly about love, vilify the people that send homosexuals in the KZ and the fire. And at the end he read from the farewell letter from Oscar Wilde to his young friend.

  10. I have no idea if this song actually came from a personal experience or if it was written to support a confirmation bias. I have heard varying degrees of what David was saying about the mom and son but not to the extent that it would cause an OSA person to turn to SSA. I know SSA individuals can develop an emotional bond with the opposite gender and sometimes that can develp into an exclusive attraction.

  11. Sounds more like Luca was deeply deluded and screwed over by his mother. And I don’t doubt that there are some among the gay population just like him; however I do not think they constitute a sizeable percentage whatsoever. Probably just enough to keep NARTH out of bankruptcy in this recession. As Luca was looking back on his life then were he gay he should have recognized that difference early in his life. He likely wouldn’t have had the several girlfriends in his early teens. It doesn’t seem that Luca was gay (there was no homosexual orientation to recognize).
    .
    I think we gay men often do look for someone like our fathers. Why not? My father was a fine, loving man. I’m sure that if he had a daughter that she would be looking for him in a husband. But the dynamic behind the ‘reparative drive’ isn’t there in the least. There’s nothing to repair.

  12. Earlier lyrics indicate that he was OSA, but that this caused anxiety in his “Mum” and therefore anxiety in himself.
    Resolving the anxiety by disowning his OSA.
    While at the same time handling his grief over his father (and resentment?) by sexually merging with a “big man.”
    As I have said in the past, if we view this as anecdotal, rather than prescriptive…we can be completely supportive of his narrative.

  13. I was still looking for my truth, that big eternal love, then I met her at a party, among a lot of people, she had nothing to do with it all, she listened to me, undressed me, understood me. I only remember that I missed her the day after.

    I think it is important to note that it doesn’t say he was initially attracted to her – their interaction developed at a deeper level – this emotional connection can and does happen and it is the foundation for most relationships that have substance. Missing the person you connected to on that level transcends all prior mindsets about who you value and want to spend time with and on what level.

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