“Bella ciao, bella ciao, goodbye beautiful”

“Oh, partigiano, please take me with you. I'm not afraid anymore.”

Bella Ciao has been sung in Italy, and around the world, as an antifascist song since the 1940s. Its lyrics tell of someone deciding to join the partisans. Most hauntingly, it tells of their wish to be buried on the mountain, if they die. For someone to die, whether fighting against fascists or of old age, is a loss. Resolving to put one’s body in danger to protect others is not an easy decision. Sometimes it simply has to be done. We might be a long way from Italy, but we must come to grips with what fascism is, and the cost of fighting can be. We must resolve ourselves that while life is a precious thing - a friend’s embrace, a lover’s kiss, growing old by the sea - freedom for all is more sweet.