So, I think more of us grew up with Umberto Tozzi's music in different languages. He wrote the original songs covered by the 80's hits Gloria (Laura Branigan) and Claridad (Menudo). A few months ago, I bought a few of his albums and came across a song I grew up with in Spanish that was ALSO originally penned and sung in Italian: De Que Me Sirven Estas Manos (A Cosa Servono le Mani)

Tozzi's quite the poet, bending both Italian and Spanish to his will in his lyrics, and this song is one of his best. When I tried to find an English translation that made sense (for both the Spanish and Italian variations), I was *highly disappointed* to find rough google translations in the place of a more hefty English version. So, I attempted to fuse both the Spanish and Italian lyrics into my own version. I used creative license, as both versions are slightly different. But, if there is a diehard Tozzi Italian fan out there that wants to do a better job, by all means do so!

In the meantime, here is my very pale in comparison English version, whose syllables I matched to the original Italian version:

What Use are These Hands (A Cosa Servono le Mani)

Hands, remind us life is brief
And time is but a thief
We begin with nothing, lifting from the bottom…
Hands; I’ll have to use them once again
Here on either side of your grave
Must I see them empty? So suddenly empty…

Hands that numb in rainfall, they then become the
Hands that lost the joy…of moving, and 
Hands wait in desperation 
For the hands that they once deemed their salvation

Of what use are these hands of mine? I am unsure.
Over her skin and body they had toured.
No sculptor could have made her kind and fair.
What do I do with my hands if she’s not there?

Not there, not there…tell me
Of what use are these hands of mine?
I find myself grasping them spitefully in my fists
Wish they’d disappear like the mist,
Or like butterflies rise
And remember how to love.

Won’t you refill my glass? My hands, they…

Still seek the warmth of the sunlight
And lost within hallucinations
Yes, an antivenom 
To all of my humiliations…
Vibrant nail polish, or your dresses
The bread and wine that made me Blessed
The blood in my veins, you were one and the same…

Four hands down to two
Wounds from the broken mirror in the loo
Hidden in pockets and dying of shame
Rejected and forgotten, even blamed

Hey! Why can’t the ground just open up and swallow me?
Why do I long for war along with peace?
Robbed of my valor, couldn’t be more crushed
When it’s only your hands I want to touch

And it’s…useless to call me
Of what use are these hands of mine?
I find myself grasping them spitefully in my fists
Wish they’d disappear like the mist,
Or like butterflies rise
And remember how to love.

Won’t you play any song with feeling, friend of mine? Ah ah
I will support your violin with mine
The orchestra now knows about your tumor
Go, direct it with your last breath of humor

For what, for whom, what are they for?
These hands, they do not know
To feel the cold of grief and empty loss, oh
Or to conserve your memory within them
Rather than tremble in fear of losing you

For what, for whom, oh, won’t you say what they are for?
If you cannot
Join them in prayer or try reaching out
Intertwine all your fingers as you count
Or dig them into clay with a great shout?

For what, for whom, tell me what use are these hands of mine, my dear child? 
Listen carefully to what I have spoken
Hands make the world, hands make the universe
They show the days of past, and time dispersed

Ah ah of what use are these hands…

-----

Below are my notes of the fusion of both:

MANI belle MANI addio        (Hands, beautiful hands, goodbye)
Adagio un po' con brio        (Adagio a bit 'with panache/vivacity)
La vita riprende dal fondo e con DO    (Life starts from the bottom and with...)
MANI le mani dovrò usarle anch'io    (Hands; I'll have to use them)
Su questa roccia che è il tuo addio    (On this rock that is your goodbye) - A TOMB????
E in uno scaffale del tempo cercare    (And on a time-shelf look for) - Timeshelf=photo album!?!?!

Manos, suaves manos mías        (Hands, these soft hands of mine)
Les digo adiós y el día        (I say goodbye and the day)
Parece notarlo                (appears to take note of it)
Se funde tristemente            (and it melts in a sad way)
Mi mente debe ser más fuerte    (my mind should be stronger/more resilient)
Tendré que usarlos nuevamente    (I’ll have to use them once again)
Volver a no verlas            (in order to stop looking at them)
De pronto vacías            (so suddenly empty)

MANI per la noia di quando piove    (Hands for the boredom of when it rains)
MANI per la gioia che si rimuove    (hands for the joy that is removed)
MANI per la naja di attendere     (hands for the naja to wait)
che un'altra mano appaia        (for another hand to appear)

Manos aburridas que no se sienten        (bored hands that don’t feel)
Manos de alegría cuando se mueven    (happy when they move)
Manos extendidas que esperan que         (hands extended that wait for)
otra mano les dé vida.            (another hand to give them life)

A cosa servono le MANI non saprei            (What hands are for, I don't know) 
MANI non saprei suonando il pianoforte su di lei    (I played the piano on her)
Credevo fosse un'arte e adesso che            (I thought it was an art and now 
Ne faccio delle MANI se lei non c'è            (what do I do with them if she is not there?)

De qué me sirven estas manos?        (What use are these hands of mine?)
No los sé                    (I’m unsure)
Paseaban por su cuerpo            (They cruised over her body)
Por su piel                    (and her skin)
Igual que si moldeara una escultura        (The same as if I were molding a sculpture)
Sin ella que otra cosa    podría hacer        (Without her, what else would I do?)

Non c'è non c'è ecco                 (No, I don’t know)
a cosa servono le MANI            (what is the use of these hands?)
Per caso le ho sgranchite            (By chance I stretched them)
e già le rimuovo un po'            (and removed them a little)
E il primo graffio di un altro bambino         (and another baby’s first scratch)
Voglio uscire stasera                 (I want to go out tonight)
che sia primavera o no            (Whether it’s Spring or not)
E voglio averne a piene            (And I want to have it full) - The shot glass?

No sé no sé dime,             (Don’t know don’t know, say)
de qué me sirven estas manos?    (What are these hands worth?)
Aprieto fuertemente            (I hold them tightly)
Ya se quieren mover            (They already want to move)
Mariposas de nuevo son        (They’ve become butterflies once more)
Quiero hacerlas que vuelen        (I want to force them to fly)
Y así aprender amor            (and in that way learn to love)

MANI di noci da schiacciar così        (HANDS of nuts to crush like this)
Di luce da inondare qui il contro veleno    (Of light to flood here the counter-poison)
Dei funghi dell'umiliazione            (Of the mushrooms of humiliation)
Dell'unghie nelle tue sottane            (Some nails in your petticoats)
Per me tu eri l'acqua il pane            (For me you were water, bread)
Il sangue le vene mi servono buone        (The blood and veins, my good serving)

Debo sentir que tengo manos        (I should feel like I have hands)
Que salgan a buscar el sol            (May they leave to seek the sun)
Que vuelvan a sentir calor            (So they may once again feel warmth)
En contra veneno                (In contrast to the poison)    
Del mal de tus humillaciones            (of your awful humiliations)
De la erupción de tus vestidos        (of the fluttering of your dresses)
Fuiste pan y fuiste vino            (you were bread and you were wine)
Mi sangre en mis venas            (you were the blood in my veins)

MANI non le tue da quattro sono diventate due    (HANDS not yours from four became two)
E stanno sempre in tasca chiuse a pugno    (And they're always in your pocket closed in a fist)
Ferite dallo specchio del mio bagno        (Wounds from my bathroom mirror) violence, grief
Eh vorrei strappare marijuana dalla terra    (Eh I would like to tear marijuana from the earth)
Vorrei la pace e poi vorrei la guerra        (I would like peace and then I would like war)
Ma è vero non possiamo star lontani        (But it's true we can't stay away)
In fondo voglio ancora le tue MANI        (Deep down I still want your HANDS)

No puedo perderlas                (I can’t lose them)
Manos no las tuyas                (Hands that aren’t yours)
De cuatro solo quedan dos desnudas    (Four once, now only two are left naked)
Muriéndose de pena en los bolsillos        (Dying of pity within pockets)
Heridas por el asco y el olvido        (Feeling hurt by disgust and neglect)
Quiero meterme en lo más hondo        (I want to be swallowed up by the ground)
De la tierra
Quiero la paz después            (I want peace afterward)
Quiero la guerra                (I want war)
Me siento sin valor paralizado        (I feel robbed of valor and paralyzed)
Tan solo quiero acariciar tus manos        (I merely want to caress your hands)

È inu...tile che chiami                (It’s use…less for you to call)
A cosa servono le mani            (What are hands for?)
Per caso le ho sgranchite             (By chance I stretched them)
e già le rimuovono un po'            (and removed them a bit)
Due farfalle di nuovo ho            (Two butterflies again I have)
Voglio uscire stasera                 (I want to go out)    
che sia primavera o no            (Whether or not it’s Spring)

Y no..y si te llamo                (And no…and if I call)
De qué me sirven estas manos?        (What use are these hands?)
Aprieto fuertemente                (I grip them firmly)
Ya se quieren mover                (They already want to move)
Mariposas de nuevo son            (Once again, they’re butterflies)
Quiero hacerlas que vuelen            (I want to force them to fly)
A así aprender amor                (And, that way, learn of love)

E vai col tango delle MANI amico mio ah ah    (And go with the HANDS tango my friend ah ah)
Appoggia il tuo violino sul leggio        (Place your violin on the music stand)
Del tuo tumore sa tutta l'orchestra        (The whole orchestra knows about your tumor)
Dirigi per il tempo che ti resta            (Direct for whatever time you have left) TUMOR??    

Y toca fuerte cualquier cosa amigo mío    (And play strongly any song, my friend)
Apoya tu violín al hombro mío        (Support your violin with my shoulder)
De tu agonía sabe ya la orquesta        (Of your agony, the orchestra already knows)
Dirige por el tiempo que te resta        (Direct it for what time you have left)

A che A chi A cosa servono            (For what, For whom, What are they for?)
Le mani adesso so                (The hands now know)
A far le corna dire si o no oh            (To make the horns say yes or no oh)
A pizzicare un dolce un culo pieno        (To pinch a sweet, full ass) -LMAO! 70s Italians were lady killers, weren't they?
A dare un fiore a dire io ti amo        (To give a flower to say I love you)

De qué por qué me sirven estas manos?    (Of what, what use are these hands? I don’t know)
Ya lo sé
Para sentir el frío aprender            (To feel the coldness and to learn)
A conservar en ellas tu recuerdo        (To conserve your memories in them)
Para temblar de miedo si te pierdo        (To tremble from fear if I lose you)

A che A chi A cosa servono le mani         (For what, For whom, What are hands for)
se non puoi                    (If you cannot)
Congiungerle e pregare senza un Dio    (Join them and pray without a God)
Ci puoi contare quattro cinque sei        (You can count on it four five six)
E modellare un'altra uguale a lei        (And model another equal to her)

De qué para qué sirven ya mis manos    (Of what, what is the use of my hands?)
Si no atino a entrelazarlas y            (If I don't manage to intertwine them and)
Soñar contigo                    (dream with you)
Contar del uno al diez                (To count from one to ten)
Del diez al cero                (From ten to zero)
O modelar en barro con los dedos        (Or modeling in clay with your fingers)

A che A chi A cosa servono            (For what, For whom, just what are)
le mani bimbo mio                 (hands for, my child?)
Ti spiego anche se son            (I'll explain even if they are)
bambino anch'io                (Childlike, too)
Le MANI sono il mondo l' universo        (HANDS are the world, the universe)
Il tempo ritrovato il tempo perso        (Time regained, and time lost)
 
Ah ah cosa servono le mani....        (Ah ah what are the hands for…)

A qué de qué me sirven estas manos    (To what, what use are these hands)
Hijo mío                    ( my son?)
Escúchame despacio lo que digo        (Listen carefully to what I’m saying)
Las manos son el mundo el universo        (The hands are the world, the universe)
El tiempo del amor, el tiempo muerto…    (The time of love, the time of death…)

Aaaaaa de que me sirven estas manos…    (Ah what are these hands for…)