As World War II raged across Europe and North Africa and Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini fought to hold a grip on Italy, resistance fighters known as partisans fought against the dictatorship and the German puppet state that Italy had become.
âBella Ciaoâ became popular among the partisans and their supporters while the resistance movement remained active. There is no known author of the modern lyrics, though there are indications it may have been influenced by or based on âAlla mattina appenza alzata,â a folk song sung by rice-weeders in the Po river basin in northern Italy.
 Una mattina mi son svegliato
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
Una mattina mi son svegliato
Eo ho trovato l'invasor
One morning I woke up
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
One morning I woke up
And I found the invader
 O partigiano porta mi via
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
O partigiano porta mi via
Che mi sento di morir
Oh partisan, carry me away,
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
Oh partisan, carry me away,
For I feel Iâm dying
 E se io muoio da partigiano
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
E se io muoio da partigiano
Tu mi devi seppellir
And if I die as a partisan
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
And if I die as a partisan
You have to bury me
 Mi seppellire lassĂč in montagna
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
Mi seppellire lassĂč in montagna
Sotto l'ombra di un bel fiore
But bury me up in the mountain
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao,
But bury me up in the mountain
Under the shadow of a beautiful flower
 E le genti che passeranno
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
E le genti che passeranno
Mi diranno: "Che bel fiorâ
And the people who will pass by
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao,
And the people who will pass by
Will say to me: âwhat a beautiful flowerâ
 à questo il fiore del partigiano
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
Ă questo il fiore del partigiano
Morto per la libertĂ
This is the flower of the partisan
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao
This is the flower of the partisan
Who died for freedom