Speak Softly, Love

"Speak Softly, Love" is the theme song for The Godfather (1972). Its instrumental version is simply known as "Love Theme from The Godfather". Larry Kusik wrote the original, English lyrics, and Nino Rota wrote the music. Different sets of lyrics for the song were written in French (Parle plus bas), Italian (Parla più piano), Sicilian (Brucia la terra), and Spanish (Amor háblame dulcemente). Dalida sings the French version; the Sicilian version is sung by Anthony Corleone (Franc D'Ambrosio) in The Godfather Part III.

Rota's score for The Godfather had been nominated for a 1973 Academy Award for Best Original Score. However, it was disqualified from consideration when the Academy learned Rota had used a more comedic version of the song for the film Fortunella (1958). Nonetheless, Rota's score for The Godfather Part II won the 1974 Academy Award for Best Score, despite the fact that it contained the same piece.