Cross-Oceanic Support for Barack Obama’s Bid for the White House

Laura E. Ruberto (September 24, 2008)

Is this just a gimmick to make tourists happy? Does it matter?

A couple of unnamed gondoliers in Venice have taken a 1958 hit written by Italians Domenico Modugno and Franco Migliacci— “Nel blu dipinto di blu” (more commonly known as “Volare”)—and given it a 2008 U.S. presidential spin.

The song has been recorded by over 100 artists, including Connie Francis [2], Frank Zappa [3], Dean Martin [4], Mina, and my favorite, Alex Chilton [5] from Big Star.

This is the pro-Obama gondoliers' version:

And here's the original version:

How great (and outrageously goofy) to see cross-oceanic support for Barack Obama’s bid for the White House! Am I supposed to be pessimistic and wonder if this was just a gimmick to make tourists happy? Does it matter?