#1 'O Sole Mio' by Enrico Caruso (1916)

SONG

"All I can think of when I hear this song is the Wall's Cornetto advert from when I was tiny. That ages me... As for the song itself, it's pleasant and easy listening. Not a big fan of opera, but I do like this one :)" - LC

Written by: Giovanni Capurro (lyrics) and Eduardo di Capua (melody) in 1898.

Label: Victor Talking Machine

FACTS

• Caruso died before the introduction of electrical recording technology in 1925. All of his recordings were made using the acoustic process, which required the recording artist to sing into a metal horn or funnel which relayed sound directly to a master disc via a stylus. 
• In 1920 it was played as a substitute for the Italian national anthem, which could not be found, at the Olympics in Antwerp. 
• A parody of the song was used for a decade to advertise Cornetto ice-cream (# Just oooooooone Cornetto, give it to meeeeeeeeeeeeeee... #) and the tune can still be heard being played from ice-cream vans all over Europe. 
• It has been covered by the pop punk band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, on their album Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah. 

Translation 

My Sun

What a beautiful thing is a sunny day!

The air is serene after a storm,

The air is so fresh that it already feels like a celebration.

What a beautiful thing is a sunny day!

But another sun,

That's brighter still,

It's my own sun

That's upon your face!

The sun, my own sun, 

It's upon your face,

It's upon your face!

When night comes and the sun has gone down,

I almost start feeling melancholy;

I'd stay below your window

When night comes and the sun has gone down.

But another sun

That's brighter still,

It's my own sun

That's upon your face!

The sun, my own sun,

It's upon your face!

It's upon your face!