CHICAGO — He never sang to the feds, but it turns out Al Capone had a song in his heart. All it took was a stint in Alcatraz to bring it out.
Now, more than 70 years later, the tender love song that the ruthless crime boss penned while sitting in the pen is being recorded and released on CD. And an inscribed copy of the music and lyrics to “Madonna Mia” is up for sale at $65,000.
The story of “Madonna Mia” begins at Al catraz, where Scarface was sent after getting pinched for tax evasion. Enter Vincent Casey. As part of his training to become a Jesuit priest, Casey would visit Alcatraz to offer spiritual counsel to prisoners in the 1930s.
One Christmas, Capone presented Casey with a piece of sheet music. The lyrics told of a man’s undying love for his “Madonna Mia.”
“With your true love to guide me, let whatever betide me, I will never go wrong,” Capone wrote. “There’s only one moon above, one golden sun, there’s only one that I love, you are the one.”
Casey’s son sold the song to an auction house.
