Tu vuò fà l'americano

Renato Carosone composed Tu vuo fa l'americano in 1956 to a lyric by Nicola Salerno, and recorded it with his own trio in Naples. The song mocks a young Neapolitan who drinks whisky and soda, dances rock and roll and plays baseball while living on his parents' money: a portrait of Italy's postwar infatuation with America, sung in dialect over a swing rhythm. Carosone retired at the height of his fame in 1960. The song returned to wide circulation through the 1999 film The Talented Mr Ripley.