The exact origins are not known, but it is theorized to be based on a folk song of the late 19th century, sung by female workers (mondine) of the paddy fields in Northern Italy in protest against harsh working conditions. There is little evidence of the song being used during World War II, with the current partisan version becoming widespread only after it ended. Versions of "Bella ciao" continue to be sung worldwide as a hymn of resistance against Nazism, fascism, injustice and oppression.
History
The origins of the song are unclear, although one hypothesis is that "Bella ciao" was originally sung as "Alla mattina appena alzata" ("In the morning as soon as I woke up") by seasonal workers of paddy fields of rice, especially in Italy's Po Valley from the late 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, with different lyrics. They worked at mondare (weeding) the rice fields in Northern Italy, to help the healthy growth of young rice plants. This work was performed during the flooding of the fields, from the end of April to the beginning of June every year. During this time, the first stages of the rice plants' development, the delicate shoots needed to be protected from the difference in temperature between the day and the night. It consisted of two phases: transplanting the plants and pruning the weeds.
Photograph of a mondina working in a field
This exhausting task was carried out primarily by women known as mondine, recruited from the poorest social classes. They spent their workdays barefoot in water up to their knees, their backs bent continuously. Poor working conditions, excessive hours and low pay led to constant dissatisfaction and, occasionally, rebellious movements and riots in the early 20th century. Struggles against the supervising padroni (an employer who completely controls his or her workers, especially one who exploits Italian immigrants) were even harder, with plenty of clandestine workers ready to compromise even further the already low wages just to get work. Besides "Bella ciao", similar songs of the mondina included "Sciur padrun da li beli braghi bianchi[it]" and "Se otto ore vi sembran poche[it]".
Other versions of the antecedents of "Bella ciao" appeared over the years, indicating that "Alla mattina appena alzata" must have been composed in the latter half of the 19th century. The earliest written version is dated to 1906 and comes from near Vercelli, Piedmont.
As a partisan song
There are no indications of the relevance of "Bella ciao" among the partisan brigades, nor of the very existence of the 'partisan version' prior to the first publication of the text in 1953. There are no traces in the documents of the immediate postwar period nor is it present in important songbooks. It is not found, for example, in Pasolini's 1955 Canzoniere Italiano nor in the Canti Politici of Editori Riuniti of 1962. The 1963 version of Yves Montand shot to fame after the groupIl Nuovo Canzoniere Italiano presented it at the 1964 Festival dei Due Mondi at Spoleto both as a song of the mondine and as a partisan hymn, and the latter so "inclusive" that it could hold together the various political souls of the national liberation struggle (Catholics, Communists, Socialists, Liberals...) and even be sung at the end of the Christian Democracy (Democrazia Cristiana) 1975 congress which elected the former partisan Zaccagnini as national secretary.
As reported in the text by Roberto Battaglia History of the Italian Resistance popular songs of the era were Fischia il vento and the famous Soviet folk aria Katyusha, which became the official anthem of the Garibaldi Partisan Brigades.
Even the well-known journalist, former partisan and historian of the partisan struggle, Giorgio Bocca publicly stated:
"Bella ciao"... song of the Resistance, and "Giovinezza"... song of the Fascist period... Neither one nor the other born from partisans or fascists, one borrowed from a Dalmatian song, the other from the Tuscan student spirit and over the years it has become the official or de facto anthems of anti-fascist Italy and that of the Mussolini regime... In the twenty months of the partisan war I have never heard people sing "Bella ciao", an invention of the Spoleto Festival.
—Luigi Morrone, The true story of "Bella ciao," which was never sung in the Resistance, "Our Story," "Corriere della Sera," 10 July 2018.
These statements were later verified by Carlo Pestelli in his book Bella ciao. The song of freedom, in which he reconstructs the origins and spread of the song.
Historians of Italian music, including Antonio Virgilio Savona and Michele Straniero, agree "Bella ciao" was not sung or only rarely sung during the partisan war and became popular only after WW2 ended.
Only a few voices, such as that of the historians Cesare Bermani and Ruggero Giacomini, claim that some version of "Bella ciao" was sung by some brigades during the Resistance, although not necessarily in the now popular 'partisan version', of whose existence, as specified above, there is no documentary evidence until the 1950s.
The text as sung today was first published in 1953 in the magazine La Lapa, and then in L'Unità in 1957.[citation needed]
A possible origin of the melody was identified by researcher Fausto Giovannardi, following the discovery of a Yiddish melody (Koilen song) recorded by a Russian Klezmer accordionist, Mishka Ziganoff, in 1919 in New York. According to the scholar Rod Hamilton of The British Library in London, "Koilen" is a version of "Dus Zekele Koilen" (The bag of coal), of which there are various versions dating back to the 1920s.
Italian folksinger Giovanna Daffini recorded the song in 1962. The music is in quadruple meter.
Alla mattina appena alzata
o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao, ciao, ciao
alla mattina appena alzata
in risaia mi tocca andar.
E fra gli insetti e le zanzare
o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
e fra gli insetti e le zanzare
un dur lavoro mi tocca far.
Il capo in piedi col suo bastone
o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
il capo in piedi col suo bastone
e noi curve a lavorar.
O mamma mia o che tormento
o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
o mamma mia o che tormento
io t'invoco ogni doman.
Ed ogni ora che qui passiamo
o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
ed ogni ora che qui passiamo
noi perdiam la gioventù.
Ma verrà un giorno che tutte quante
o bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao
ma verrà un giorno che tutte quante
lavoreremo in libertà.
In the morning I got up
oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao (Goodbye beautiful)
In the morning I got up
To the paddy fields I have to go.
And between insects and mosquitoes
oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
and between insects and mosquitoes
a hard work I have to do.
The boss is standing with his cane
oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
the boss is standing with his cane
and we work with our backs curved.
Oh my God, what a torment
oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
oh my God, what a torment
as I call you every morning.
And every hour that we pass here
oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
and every hour that we pass here
we lose our youth.
But the day will come when we all
oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
but the day will come when we all
will work in freedom.
One of the most famous recordings is that of the Italian folk singer Giovanna Daffini who recorded both the mondina and the partisan versions. It appears in her 1975 album Amore mio non piangere. Many artists have recorded the song, including Herbert Pagani, Mary Hopkin, Sandie Shaw, Goran Bregovic and Manu Chao.
2022: Two-time Grammy winner Ulises Bella, from the band Ozomatli, arranged a version for Italian-American singer Isabella Han-Bolelli.
2022: As a part of the Hearts of Iron IV'sDLCBy Blood Alone, Paradox Games released a choir version of "Bella Ciao" arranged by Håkan Glänte and performed by Göteborg Baroque.
2022: American Musician Seth Staton Watkins Released a culturally translated cover loosely based on a translation by Paddy Shannon on his YouTube Channel
In addition to the original Italian, the song has been recorded by various artists in many different languages, including Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Belarusian, Bosnian, Breton, Bengali, Bulgarian, Burmese, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, English, Esperanto, Finnish, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Hebrew, Japanese, Kashmiri, Kurdish, Persian, Macedonian, Malayalam, Marathi, Norwegian, Occitan, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian, Sinhalese, Slovak, Spanish, Syriac, Swedish, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Ukrainian and Yiddish.
Guadeloupean punk band The Bolokos recorded a version in Creole and French called "Bel Aw" on their eponymous album inspired by the Ramoneurs de Menhirs version.
Another version of the song was recorded by the punk rock band Dog Faced Hermans on their album, Every Day Time Bomb.
Danish psychedelic rock group The Savage Rose have recorded a version of this song on the albums En Vugge Af Stål from 1982 and Ild Og Frihed (1989).
San Francisco punk band La Plebe perform "Bella Ciao" on their album, Brazo en Brazo.
French-born musician of Spanish origin Manu Chao has also recorded a version of the song.
Kurdish Singer Ciwan Haco has included the song in his album Çaw Bella 1989 – Bochum – Germany. He sang it in Kurmanji Kurdish He added the Kurmanji masculine vocative case article 'lo' to the lyrics to give it some locality.
Kurdish music band Koma Dengê Azadî has also included the song with a different style in their album Çaw Bella 1991 – Istanbul – Turkey. The song was revived during ISIS attack on Kobane 2014.
The tune has been used in the song "Pilla Chao" from the 2011 Telugu language film Businessman, composed by S. Thaman and also dubbed as "Penne Chaavu" in the Malayalam version of the same film.
German LiedermacherHannes Wader recorded a German version on Wader, Hannes (1977). Hannes Wader singt Arbeiterlieder[sings workers' songs] (in German). Mercury.
Konstantin Wecker and Hannes Wader performed it live on their collaboration album Was für eine Nacht.
Turkish band Grup Yorum have recorded a Turkish translation of the song on their 1988 album Haziranda Ölmek Zor / Berivan.
Turkish band Bandista has recorded a Turkish version, "Hoşçakal", on their album Daima!, in 2011.
Bosnian musician Goran Bregović has recorded one version on his album Champagne for Gypsies (2012).
German folk duo Zupfgeigenhansel recorded a free adaptation on their 1982 album Miteinander that, instead of glorifying the death of the partisan, paints him as a reluctant anti-hero who is scared and despises war, but feels he has no other choice because of the atrocities he has seen.
Thai anti-fascist band Faiyen recorded a Thai version of the song called "Plodploy Plianplaeng" (Thai: ปลดปล่อย เปลี่ยนแปลง, "Liberate and Change"). It has been used by the Red Shirts anti-fascism group since 2011.
Spanish punk rock band Boikot recorded a modified version in Spanish.
An a cappella version was recorded by The Swingle Singers in 1991 on their album Folk Music Around The World.
Belarusian folk punk band Dzieciuki recorded a modified version in Belarusian under the name "Трымайся, браце!" ("Hold fast, brother!").
Patric recorded "Bèla Ciaò", a version in Occitan for his 2010 album, Colors.
Mike Singer recorded an Electro dance version in June 2018.
In August 2018, Škampi na Žaru, an occasional musical project of Slovak Radio Expres, published the song with Slovak lyrics.
In November 2018, Slovak Gypsy musical project Kuky band released a version of the song on YouTube with lyrics about the life of a Gypsy musician, becoming an internet sensation and popular meme in both Czechia and Slovakia, due to the humorous nature of the low quality greenscreenVFX used in the music video, reaching over 1,5 million views as of September 2025. The band's other music videos also contributed to their rise in popularity, both due to internet virality and the band's musical talent, taking them from uploading homemade YouTube videoclips and playing small, local concerts, to getting played on radios and even becoming popular abroad.
Hardwell and Maddix released an EDM version of the song in 2018.
American DJ Steve Aoki and Marnik also made an EDM version in 2018.
Marc Ribot collaborated with Tom Waits to create their own version for 2018. It is the first song Tom Waits has done in 2 years. This appears on the Marc Ribot album Songs of Resistance 1942–2018.
In 2019, Extinction Rebellion modified the text to suit their mission and named their new version "Rebella Ciao".
In 2019, Spanish singer Najwa released her take on the Spanish version of the song, that later served as the music in the ending credits of the fourth season of Money Heist (in which she plays Alicia Sierra).
On 23 February 2020 Kashmiri version of the song was released by Zanaan Wanaan, an independent feminist collective based in Kashmir, to protest against the Indian government in the region of Kashmir.
In September 2019, Lebanese singer Shiraz released her remixed version of the song that topped the Lebanese Singles Chart.
In October 2019, in CAA and NRC protests Poojan Sahil, made a Hindi version "Wapas Jao" (transl.Go Back) of Bella Ciao in Hindi.
On 6 January 2020, a Hindi version of this song was used by protesters in Mumbai who were agitating against the Indian government (Citizenship Amendment Act protests).
2018: DJ Ötzi covered the song with German lyrics.
In February 2020, a Bengali translation of the song by Sharif Siraj was sung by Jojon Mahmud.
On 17 December 2020, during the 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest, Poojan Sahil made a rendition of "Bella Ciao" in Punjabi against the new farm laws in India.
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, a Bengali version of the song was created named "Lorey Jao" (trans: Continue to fight) to encourage the frontline workers in India.
In 2020, Indian rapper Epr Iyer released a song named "Yeh Bata (Bella Ciao)"
In 2020, protest group Men In Black Denmark used the song's melody, renaming it "Mette Ciao", referring to Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
The song was featured in Far Cry 6 as, "La Bella Ciao de Libertad." It is sung in Spanish by the main protagonist and side character during a mission as they burn a tobacco farm.
Zin Linn, a Burmese student activist, wrote the Burmese version of the song and it was sung in several demonstrations in Myanmar, during the nationwide protest against the military coup in early 2021.
In 2021, a Bengali version of "Bella Ciao" was used by an Indian political party, BJP, to campaign against another party named TMC. The song was named "Pishi jao", which means "Aunty go!" in Bengali referring to TMC leader Mamata Banerjee. This led to widespread derision and a lot of unintended humor as many observers pointed out the obvious irony of a far-right party needing to resort to using a historically left-wing slogan for their campaign.
In 2023, the Serbian version of "Bella Ciao", part of "Next to you" movie soundtrack, interpreted by Bojana Janković, was used as anthem of 2023 Serbian protests.
In 2022, Celtic F.C. fans created a chant based on the song. Other clubs later followed in creating their own versions.
In 2026, it was used on the soundtrack of the HindiNetflix production Taskaree: The Smuggers Web.
In popular culture
As an internationally known hymn of freedom, it was intoned at many historic and revolutionary events. The song originally aligned itself with Italian partisans fighting against Nazi German occupation troops, but has since come to merely stand for the inherent rights of all people to be liberated from tyranny.
Renewed popularity
In 2017 and 2018, the song received renewed popularity due to the singing of "Bella ciao" multiple times in the Spanish television series Money Heist. The character Tokyo recounts in one of her narrations, "The life of the Professor revolved around a single idea: Resistance. His grandfather, who had fought against the fascists in Italy, taught him the song and he taught us." The song is played in emblematic moments in the series as a metaphor for freedom.
In the German protests against the rising right-extremist party AfD in January 2025, the song was chanted by around 600 people in Würzburg. The event produced a viral TikTok video with 3.4 million views within 4 days, documenting the chants during the protest.
Video of Italian Catholic priest Andrea Gallo singing the song during mass with the congregation was recorded in 2012. In 2016, Jacobin magazine uploaded the video to social media, receiving hundreds of thousands of views, and occasionally re-uploads the Don Gallo rendition.
In April 2018, supporters from the Portuguese football club F.C. Porto adapted the song with the lyrics "Penta Xau" ("Bye bye fifth"), as a taunt referring to the lost opportunity by rival club S.L. Benfica to win a fifth consecutive national championship, a feat realized in Portugal by F.C. Porto.
The song was the basis of a taunt by Brazilian fans used during World Cup 2018 exemplifying the Argentina–Brazil football rivalry, and the unrealized elimination during the first round in another attempt by Argentina at a 5th Cup title cut short if they were eliminated. The lyrics made references to Argentine players Di María, Mascherano, and Messi.
The song was the inspiration for the #EleNão movement against right wing Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro.
During nationwide protests in Colombia in 2019, the anti-fascist song was adapted by demonstrators to oppose the government of Iván Duque of the Centro Democrático party, who have been for years questioned or investigated for systematic violations of the Constitution, the environment, Human Rights and Crimes against humanity. As the presidential period of Duque ends in 2022, since 2019 the song, dubbed as 'Duque Chao', is sung and interpreted in protests in Colombia and by the diáspora, also during the national strike demonstrations of April and May 2021, in which citizens have been killed, injured and disappeared by state police forces.
In September 2025, Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced that a bullet casing from a rifle found during the investigation of the assassination of Charlie Kirk was engraved with "Oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao".
Filmography
"Bella Ciao" has been used many times in soundtracks of films. Examples include:
2022: R.M.N., Romanian drama film written and directed by Cristian Mungiu, where the villagers sing and dance to the song, ironic given the turn the village takes later.
↑Battaglia, Roberto (1995). Storia della resistenza italiana[History of the Italian resistance] (in Italian). Vol.165. Torino: Einaudi. ISBN88-06-28571-8. OCLC439626401.
↑Pestelli, Carlo (2016). La canzone della libertà[The song of freedom] (in Italian). Add editore. ISBN9788867831135.
↑Savona, A. Virgilio; Straniero, Michele L. (1985). Canti della Resistenza italiana[Songs of the Italian Resistance] (in Italian). Milano: Edizioni BUR – via Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli.
↑Bertelli, Gualtiero (2010). "Bella ciao: una battaglia!"[Bella ciao: a battle!](PDF). L'Altra Musica Venezia (in Italian) (34). Archived from the original(PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
↑Recording made by musicologists Gianni Bosio and Roberto Leydi in 1962. Giovanna Daffini: "Alla mattina appena alzata", from the CD: Giovanna Daffini: L'amata genitrice (1991)
↑Ina.fr, Institut National de l'Audiovisuel-. "Yves Montand "Bella ciao"". Ina.fr. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
↑Fischer, Nikolas (24 April 2021). "Italian star singer Milva dies aged 81". dw.com. Translated by Hucal, Sarah. Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023. The singer was open about her leftist political views and charmed the working-class milieu with her political chansons, including the famous partisan hymn "Bella Ciao," which was a constant in her repertoire.
↑"15 volte 'Bella ciao'"['Bella ciao' 15 times]. www.rollingstone.it (in Italian). Rolling Stone LLC. 25 April 2022. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023. Nato dall'omonima rivista che recupera la canzone popolare italiana in ottica socialista, il gruppo porta in giro per l'Italia a metà anni '60 uno spettacolo di canzoni popolari italiane che prende nome da Bella ciao. La canzone è qui interpretata da Giovanna Daffini che è stata mondina e la propone nella versione delle mondine.[Born from the magazine of the same name that recovers the Italian popular song from a socialist point of view, the group brought a show of Italian popular songs around Italy in the mid-60s, which takes its name from Bella ciao. The song is interpreted here by Giovanna Daffini who was a mondina and proposes it in the version of the mondine.]
↑"Leslie Fish". lesliefish.com. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
↑"15 volte 'Bella ciao'"['Bella ciao' 15 times]. www.rollingstone.it (in Italian). Rolling Stone LLC. 25 April 2022. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023. Negli anni '90 una nuova generazione si rimpossessa del pezzo. La riscoperta del patrimonio folk italiano in chiave politica dà il via a una serie di versioni "combat" del pezzo. Quella dei Modena City Ramblers ne è il simbolo. I Ramblers ci mettono dentro un po' di Pogues e molto ritmo.[In the 90s a new generation took possession of the piece. The rediscovery of the Italian folk heritage in a political vein gives way to a series of 'combat' versions of the piece. That of the Modena City Ramblers is its icon. The Ramblers throw in some Pogues and a lot of pace.]
↑Martínez, David (25 July 2022). "La noche más larga: una americanada 'made in Spain' que bebe de La Casa de Papel y 24"[The longest night: an American thing 'made in Spain' that takes from Money Heist and 24]. alicanteplaza.es (in Spanish). ALICANTE PLAZA SL. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023. El boom de La casa de papel, exitazo inapelable en todo el mundo y que, entre otras cosas, ha descubierto Oh Bella Ciao para toda una generación que no vivió la segunda guerra mundial ni ha escuchado las versiones contemporáneas de los punks italianos Banda Bassotti.[The boom of Money Heist, an undeniable success in the whole world and that, between other things, has discovered Oh Bella Ciao for the generations that did not live through World War two nor listened to contemporary versions of the Italian punks Banda Bassotti.]
↑Cooper, Neil (18 May 2021). "Obituary: Anita Lane, Nick Cave collaborator and a major unsung talent of her time". heraldscotland.com. Newsquest Media Group Ltd. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023. She closed the record with a funereal version of Italian protest song Bella Ciao. Whether intended or not, it marked Lane's own musical farewell.
↑"El grupo italiano "Talco" llega hoy a Oviedo con canciones "de frenesí""[The Italian band "Talco" came to Oviedo today with songs "of frenzy"]. www.lne.es (in Spanish). Prensa Ibérica Media, S.L. 3 February 2023. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. En los conciertos de "Talco" era común escuchar una popular versión del "Bella Ciao" revolucionario y que ahora se ha popularizado por una serie de televisión perdiendo parte de su esencia. "Cuando empezamos a tocarla lo hicimos con la intención de cantar un himno universal que contara un momento glorioso, ahora hay dos facciones con la canción, una refugiada en la no política y otra acostumbrada a las fiestas de alcohol que despoja a Bella Ciao de su significado", aseguró.[In the concerts of "Talco", it was common to hear a popular version of the revolutionary [song] "Bella Ciao" and that now has become popularized by a television series, losing part of its essence. "When we started performing it, we did it with the intention of singing a universal anthem that will tell of a glorious moment, now there are two factions with the song, one sheltered in the "non-political" and another accustomed to the alcohol parties that strips "Bella Ciao" of its meaning," he said.]
↑Meadow, Matthew (10 June 2018). "Your EDM Premiere: Steve Aoki x Marnik – Bella Ciao (Money Heist)". youredm.com. Your EDM, LLC. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023. [Steve Aoki]'s back again today to team up with Marnik for "Bella Ciao," a multi-layered main stage festival banger that hits hard, pulls back, and hits you again. As you could surmise from the title, the vocal samples in the track are all in Italian (where Marnik are from), with some especially Italian instrumentation thrown in to double down on the sound.
↑"Bella Ciao!". Bella Ciao!. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
↑"Bella Ciao!". Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2019– via www.imdb.com.
↑In some versions, an additional part of the song is added, it has these lyrics:
Ed era rossa la sua bandiera.
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao,
Era rossa, la sua bandiera
la bandiera del lavor.
Ed era rossa la sua bandiera,
La bandiera del lavor!
(en. And his flag was red
Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao,
His flag, it was red.
The flag of labor.
And his flag was red. The flag of Labor!)
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