TORONTO – Had I been a Canadian political figure in the 1950s, I would have bought the rights to the song Casetta in Canada, Sanremo Festival, 1957 and invested in its distribution among nations and peoples desirous of a better life elsewhere (here to be specific). Our country would have been overrun with immigrants characterized by their optimism, drive and grit, just like the protagonist in the song. 

The subject, Martino, had built himself una casetta (a little house) in [post-war] Canada. Its setting was idyllic, to put it mildly: con vasche, pesciolini e tanti fiori di lilla (with pools, fish and so many lilacs). The sights and fragrances would have, and did, attract the attention and admiration of the ladies, who could not help but ooh and aah their approval: che bella la casetta in Canada! Who could ask for more?

Post-war Italy, and Europe in general, had difficulty offering anything more than an opportunity to find work and sacrifice in an often discriminatory, if not oppressive, unsafe environment. Many countries that availed themselves of the cheap labour pool resident in Italy (and other places) did not permit property ownership, marriage with locals or the acquisition of permanent residency – much less citizenship.

Thanks to my uncle we lived in such a casetta in Canada, along with two other families, on a street where the children outnumbered the ants in the garden. There were no pools, no fish, but the fragrance of lilac trees was overpowering.

The songwriters were no unrealistic fools. The depiction of this little paradise in far away North America (10 Days away by ship across the Atlantic) was bound to draw envy and spite from non immigrant locals who, like Pinco Panco: per dispetto… l’incendiò (resorted to setting it on fire).

Poor Martin ‘lost everything’ – ladies and home, one supposes that, in the fifties, they were interdependent – Martino poveretto senza casa lui restò. No more house. Time to give up and either go back or press the political system for its inequities against you? This was the fifties. Wartime suspicions and animosities were real and enduring (thanks to the War Measures Act, 1940 and its classification of Italians as ‘enemy aliens’).

No one would have blamed him if he took the hint chalked it up to a bad investment and took the next boat back. After all, many of his compatriots who had opted for a European host found themselves in a similar position, but without the ladies and the lilacs.

So, what did he do, you ask: E allora cosa fece? voi tutti chiederete. It is a life secret to be shared only in whispers: Questa la sorpresa che in segreto vi dirò. The happy, bouncy tune anticipates the answer…one door closes, others open – he rebuilt another one: Lui fece un’altra casa piccolina in Canada.

It had the same feel about it as the original one, with the same results with the ladies who were as expressive: che bella la casetta in Canada.

The song became a huge hit in the emerging pop music genre among young and old because it told the tale of “character” in the face of adversity and reward because of arduous work. So clear was the message that the song also became a popular children’s ditty, with a captivating refrain and likeable easy-flowing uncomplicated music.

Tent cities aside, life is what you make it in Canada. I have a couple of Lilac trees in my back yard to remind me.

(Here below is the original version of the song, from 1957, and the lyrics)

Casetta in Canadà (the lyrics)

Quando Martin vedete solo per la città

Forse voi penserete dove girando va

Solo, senza una meta

Solo ma c’è un perché

Aveva una casetta piccolina in Canadà

Con vasche, pesciolini e tanti fiori di lillà

E tutte le ragazze che passavano di là

Dicevano: “Che bella la casetta in Canadà”

Ma un giorno, per dispetto, Pinco Panco l’incendiò

A piedi poveretto senza casa lui restò

“Allora cosa fece?” Voi tutti chiederete

Ma questa è la sorpresa che in segreto vi dirò

Lui fece un’altra casa piccolina in Canadà

Con vasche, pesciolini e tanti fiori di lillà

E tutte le ragazze che passavano di là

Dicevano: “Che bella la casetta in Canadà”

Aveva una casetta piccolina in Canadà

Con vasche, pesciolini e tanti fiori di lillà

E tutte le ragazze che passavano di là

Dicevano: “Che bella la casetta in Canadà”

E tante, tante case lui rifece, ma però

Quel tale Pinco Panco tutte quante le incendiò

“Allora cosa fece?” Voi tutti lo sapete

Lui fece un’altra casa piccolina in Canadà

Con vasche, pesciolini e tanti fiori di lillà

E tutte le ragazze che passavano di là

Dicevano: “Che bella la casetta in Canadà”

Dicevano: “Che bella la casetta in Canadà”