Purpose
This post (and the next parts) purpose is to get the italian music known by non-italians, while keeping in mind that it's a subjective view of the huge it music world.
Why
I like many different genres (from heavy metal to hard techno, from classic to afro), so I think I can provide a lot of different it music genres too.
I like to share what I enjoy, so I'm thinking that this would be a good idea to start with.
Subject of the day: Italian Songwriters
Today I'll post a list of Italian Songwriters with a brief explanation of their style and their content.
Feel free to ask me for more or discuss with me about what they give to you.
Fabrizio De Andre'
Probably one of the most well-known Italian songwriters, Fabrizio De Andre' (or Faber, which was his nickname) was known for being a sort of rebel poet.
He wrote a lot of songs about social issues, especially caring about poor people or abandoned ones.
Notable songs:
- Il Testamento di Tito
This song is about one of the two criminals that were crucified with Jesus.
This thief, called Tito, list the Ten Commandments criticizing the hypocrisy of the people which condemn him for breaking the rules while they did even worse.
A notable sentence, translated, says "(...)The fifth says 'do not steal' and maybe I fulfilled it, stealing from the pockets of those who already stole before".
At the end, the thief says that now, looking at Jesus suffering and preparing to die, he learnt the most important of all the Commendment, which is to love the others.
- Bocca di Rose
This song is about a beautiful woman that arrives in a village and that likes to seduce men.
It's a song that first of all want to criticize the people which want her to be arrested just because they are resenting about her beauty.
At the end, the woman (called Bocca di Rose which translates to Rose Mouth) is chased away and goes in another village, where the story repeats.
An interesting part of the song is where De Andre' tells us that even the village's priest likes to stay with the girl. He writes that the priest like to walk in the village with a statue of Virgin Mary near and Bocca di Rose just behind.
- Via del Campo
This is one of my favourite songs.
The song tells us the story of a prostitute that lives in Via del Campo (Field Street), we can't know if she's old or young but she is surely beautiful.
In each stanza, the author calls this prostitute in a different way (a child, a whore...) with a different trait (eyes grey like the street, big green eyes...).
The feeling is that this girl is entangled in a life that she didn't choose and she is beautiful and sad at the same time.
- Don Raffae'
This song is about an italian gangster which is in jail.
The story is seen in the prospective of a prison guard that is fascinated by this "important" and "powerful" man, so he asks for advices and even for elegant clothes.
In jail, the gangster is respected and well-suited: he can have coffee, commodities and so on.
The catchphrase is in dialect and is an ode to the coffee, which is exquisite even in jail.
All the song is written to point how mafia/camorra and these organizations are powerful and influent on the normal people, and so how difficult is to eradicate them from society.
Francesco Guccini
Guccini is kind a controversial one.
He is considered as a typical leftist songwriter but (and this makes me screaming) is really appreciated also by the right-wing.
His songs are almost all about social themes such as injustice, salary, left-minded ideas but there are also many songs about his private life.
Notable songs:
- La Locomotiva (The Train)
This song is the real story of what happened in Bologna in the previous century.
First of all is necessary to point that Bologna has been a place where the left vs right italian fight of the 80's was particularly intense (see also the Bologna massacre).
One day, this anarchic, left minded man decided to avenge all the workers and the poor people hijacking a train with the purpose of crashing against a first-class train full of rich people.
He worked as a train pilot so he knew how to do it.
He was managing to do it, but some instants before the crash his train has been rerouted by an emergency task force.
He crashed agains a wall, but he survived for a while before diying.
This song is the poetic version of his story.
- Vedi Cara
This one is all about Guccini and his wife.
The title translates to "Dear, look"
The concept behind this song is that he loves his wife a lot, but his wife loves him just as she can.
The meaning is that he has a very complex mind and soul, that his wife cannot understand completely.
An important sentence is "You are everything to me, but this everything isn't still enough".
The song is full of poetic sentences regarding how his soul suffers in being caged in a relationship without sometimes flying away to return later.
- L'Avvelenata
This is a powerful song.
The whole song talks about his angery against the society and the world, stating that being famous is not as good as one could think and that he wouldn't have become a songwriter if he knew how the songwriter's life is.
A fantastic (to me) sentence is: "the doctor says I'm depressed and that's obvious, I can't have a moment for me even at the toiet".
In many passages of the song, Guccini is all but politically correct; he ironically insult himself stating he is a 'jew, nigger, communist, fascist, clown, poet, alcohol addicted, bastard' pointing that he doesn't care how people call him.
It's a very 'violent' song, which also goes against the jet-set of music and success in Italy.
Francesco De Gregori
Another "De" of this list.
De Gregori, also known as "the Prince" (il Principe), is a songwriter that take a lot of inspiration from Bob Dylan, in an 'italian way'.
His songs are mostly about feelings: not only love but also nostalgia, hope, sadness or friendship.
There aren't many social themes in his songs, in a certain way.
Notable songs:
- Rimmel
Rimmel is a song about a man describing a woman that left him.
As the title implies, this woman is vain and beautiful. She is a "venus made of Rimmel".
There are no hidden messages in the song, it's just the description of that woman, but the fact is that is really beautifully crafted.
- Generale
Generale translates into army general, and it's a song that has been very popular in Italy.
The song tells the story of an army general that is returning home from war.
The general is really happy and moved by the fact that war has ended and he's gonna see his friends and his family again.
Despite this, there's a subtle sense of sadness in all the song, in which we understand that he's not the same person as before anymore.
War has influenced his life and his mind a lot, and he will not forget that feeling soon.
We can understand this with a sentence: "We return home without thinking anymore / that war is good even if it hurts"
- Quattro Cani
This is a really particular song.
It's the story of four dogs (quattro cani, in italian) that have really different backgrounds but walk together in the night.
The first is a dog that experienced the war and the violence. He never "talks".
The second one is a stray dog, that is used to survive in the world.
The third one is a female dog, and all of her life is based on making sons that are "sons of the world".
The last one is a domestic dog, that isn't concerned about the world and lives without worries.
It's a really simple but deep song, I love it because of this.
Conclusion
I hope you liked this first part of my "guide".
In the next part, I'll be talking about other genres.
Tell me if you have special requests or what do you think about this idea.
Cheers,
I only know Italo Disco. Thanks for the article, gonna listen to it.
Thanks to you, I hope you will like it.
Italo disco is quite popular, I know :D
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