Meglio Stasera

Meglio Stasera (known in English as It Had Better Be Tonight) is a 1963 song with music by Henry Mancini, Italian lyrics by Franco Migliacci and English lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was composed for the 1963 film The Pink Panther where it was performed by Fran Jeffries. In addition to the vocal performance, instrumental portions of the song appear in the film's underscore, sometimes as an introduction to the main "Pink Panther Theme".

Lyrics and translation

The beginning of the song, in the original Italian, is here followed by a literal translation and the first two lines of the English version which contains an Italian expression, "Fa' subito!", which translates as "do it right away", but which does not appear in the Italian lyrics. However, all the versions carry the same underlying meaning of "Let's make love tonight, because who knows what will happen tomorrow."

Italian

Meglio stasera, che domani o mai,

Domani chi lo sa, quel che sarà?

Literal translation

Better tonight, than tomorrow or never,

Tomorrow who knows, what will be?

English version

Meglio stasera, baby, go-go-go,

Or as we natives say, "Fa' subito!"

Spanish version

Mejor ahora,

ya mañana no!!

Other versions

The song has been recorded in a number of versions. The Italian version performed by Fran Jeffries that appears in the film, but not on the soundtrack record album. An instrumental that resembles the underscore of Fran's rendition. This version is on the soundtrack album. A group vocal with only vaguely related English lyrics. It can be heard in the background during the fancy-dress ball and costume party whilst the attempted robbery is taking place. This version is also on the soundtrack album. Another Italian version, arranged by Ennio Morricone and performed by Miranda Martino, in 1963, on the compilation album Da Hollywood a Cinecittà. Morricone later also did an instrumental version on compilation albums. A version that appears in another Sellers, Blake Edwards & Mancini collaboration, the 1968 film The Party. Other singers to subsequently record the song include Sarah Vaughan, on her 1965 album Sarah Vaughan Sings the Mancini Songbook, and Lena Horne. An instrumental lounge-style version was recorded by The Hub Kings on their album This Way. John Barrowman performed the song during his 2008 tour. Accordionist Frank Marocco recorded the song together with "Quando, Quando, Quando", as part of a two-song medley on his compilation album Beyond the Sea. His arrangement appears in one of his sheet-music book combinations, titled Latin Rhythms. A Chill-style remake of this song was done by Italian group Mondo Candido. It appears on the mix album Buddha Bar V. A mambo-style version of the song was recorded by the swing revival group Lee Press-on and the Nails for the album El Bando en Fuego. A version of the song was recorded by Mic Gillette on his album Ear Candy. A Spanish version was also recorded in Santiago, Chile, by Bambi, a popular singer in the mid-1960s. The title was "Mejor Ahora". The Greek singer Elli Paspala performed the Italian version on her 1993 live album Η Ελλη Παπσπαλά στο Μέγαρο Μουσικής.

Michael Bublé version

"It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)" is the fourth and final single from Michael Bublé's third album, Call Me Irresponsible. Bublé's version is an adaptation of the musical arrangement previously made for Lena Horne. Bublé's version of the song reached #74 in the UK Singles Chart after being used in an advertising campaign for Marks & Spencer. The track became one of Bublé's most remixed songs, with mixes by Eddie Amador being made available for download.^[1]

Tracklisting

Digital Download Remixes E.P.^[2]

1. "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)" (Zoned Out Mix) - 3:16
2. "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)" (Star City Remix) - 3:23
3. "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)" (Eddie Amador's House Lovers Extra Love) - 4:42
4. "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)" (Eddie Amador's House Lovers Dub) - 6:46
5. "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)" (Eddie Amador's House Lovers Club) - 8:04
6. "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)" (Eddie Amador's Club Dub) - 5:15
7. "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)" (Eddie Amador's Club Mix) - 7:45

Charts

References

External links

• Performance by Fran Jeffries in the film The Pink Panther