C'è la luna mezzo mare


, mostly known in the English-speaking world as "C'è la luna mezzo mare", "Luna mezz'o mare" and other similar titles, is a comic Sicilian song with worldwide popularity, traditionally styled as a brisk tarantella. The song portrays a mother-daughter "coming of age" exchange consisting of various comic, and sometimes sexual, innuendos. It is frequently performed at Italian-American wedding receptions and other festive occasions. Hit versions have included "Oh! Ma-Ma! " by Rudy Vallée and "Lazy Mary " by Lou Monte.

Origin

Related music and lyrics appeared as early as 1835, in the art song "La Danza" by Gioachino Rossini and Carlo Pepoli. By 1871 in Italy, bawdier versions were circulating. In 1927, New York City's Italian Book Company arranged and recorded a version by Sicilian sailor Paolo Citorello, and an American court upheld their copyright in 1928.

Popularity

Since the first recording in 1927, the song has proliferated with different titles and lyrics in English, Sicilian, and Neapolitan. Hit recordings in the United States have included "Oh! Ma-Ma!" by Rudy Vallée and "Lazy Mary" by Lou Monte. Monte's version was initially banned from British broadcasts for undesirable innuendo, but has been played to a family-filled baseball stadium during the seventh-inning stretch at almost every New York Mets home game since the mid-1990s, as the result of a fan survey. The humorous lyrics center around a young woman wondering about marriage with various tradesmen, ensuring the song's sustained popularity at Italian wedding receptions, including the opening scene of The Godfather. The song was also included in the 2010 videogame Mafia II, as part of the fictional radio station Empire Classic. In early 2022 the song was used as part of a popular TikTok trend where creators would use the song showing things in their home that "just make sense" while making a stereotypical Italian hand gesture to the beat of the song.
In the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, the cast sang the song in the episodes "Mia Famiglia" and "Italy".

Notable recordings

The song has been notably recorded with the following performers and titles:
  • 1927: Paolo Citorello, "Luna mezzomare "
  • 1928: Rosina Gioiosa, "Mi vogghiu maritari "
  • 1929: Paolo Citorello, "Mamma a cu m'addari"
  • 1930: Paolo Citorello, "Mi vulissi maritari "
  • 1930s: Silvia Coruzzolo, "A luna mezzo o mare"
  • 1930s: I Diavoli, "La luna in mezzo al mare "
  • 1938: Rudy Vallée, "Oh! Ma-Ma! ", 1975 compilation Jukebox Saturday Night. 96 Great Jukebox Hits
  • 1938: Billy Cotton and His Band, "Oh! Ma-Ma"
  • 1938: Joe Loss and His Band, "Oh! Ma-Ma!"
  • 1938: Dick Robertson and His Orchestra, "Oh! Ma-Ma! "
  • 1938: Gracie Fields, "Oh! Ma-Ma "
  • 1938: Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians "Oh! Ma-Ma "
  • 1938: Nat Gonella & His Georgians "Oh! Ma-Ma"
  • 1938: George Hall, "Oh! Ma Ma "
  • 1938: Andrews Sisters, "Oh! Ma-Ma! " ; 1957 album Andrews Sisters by Popular Demand
  • 1938: Gail Reese and Glenn Miller Orchestra, "Oh! Ma-Ma! ", 2001 album The Complete Sustaining Broadcasts: Volume 3 - On the Sentimental Side
  • 1939: Paolo Dones, "'A luna 'mmenzu 'u mari!"
  • 1940: Trio Vocale Sorelle Lescano, "Ohi Ma - Ma!
  • 1946: Rose Marie, "Chena a luna", 1953 album Show Stoppers
  • 1951: Dean Martin, "Luna mezzo mare" ; 1993 album Pardners
  • 1954: Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians, "Oh! Ma-Ma" ; album Guy Lombardo Plays
  • 1958: Lou Monte, "Lazy Mary ", album Lou Monte Sings For You
  • 1958: Johnny Puleo and His Harmonica Gang, "C'è la luna in mezzo mare", album Molto Italiano!
  • 1960: The Mills Brothers, "Oh! Ma-Ma! " ; 1974 album The Best of The Mills Brothers Volume II
  • 1961: Marianne, "Oh! Ma-Ma!"
  • 1961: Louis Prima, "Oh Ma Ma Twist" ; 1962 compilation Februar I/1962
  • 1962: Marino Marini and his quartet "Oh! Ma-Ma Twist"
  • 1963: Louis Prima, "Che-la-luna" ; 1964 album The King of Clubs
  • 1973: Salix Alba, "Oh Mama" ; album Salix Alba
  • 1975: I' Liguri, "Luna mezzo o mare", album I' Liguri
  • 1979: De Deurzakkers, "Oh, Mama"
  • 1983: Stars on 45, album Star Sisters Album
  • 1999: Frank Simms, "Luna mezzo mare", compilation Mickey Blue Eyes
  • 2002: Enrique Rodríguez and his Orchestra, album El "Chato" Flores en el recuerdo
  • 2005: Patrizio Buanne, "Luna mezz'o mare", album Patrizio The Italian
  • 2013: Guido Luciani, "Luna mezzo mare", album That's amore! A night in Little Italy
  • 2015: Famiglia Amica Valenza, "C'è la luna mezz'o mare"
  • xxxx: Len Hughes and his Orchestra "Oh! Ma-Ma!"
  • xxxx: Kristian Haugers Danseorkester – "Oh, Ma-Ma"