Renato Fiacchini was born in Rome in the Via di Ripetta, next to the Via del Corso.
He quit his studies early to devote himself to his true passion, playing music and singing - though initially with little success. He replied to the criticisms (including the recurring insult Sei uno zero! - "You're a zero!") by assuming the alter-ego of Renato Zero. After several different jobs, including an appearance in an advertisement for ice-cream, he recorded his first singles in 1965: "Tu, sì", "Il deserto", "La solitudine", which were never issued. His first published single, "Non basta sai/In mezzo ai guai" (1967), sold a total of 20 copies.
In the late 1960s Zero's career was favoured by the glam-rock fashion, which he had somehow presaged with his sexual ambiguity and androgynous appearance. At the same time, this led him to be accused of cloning characters like David Bowie. In 1973 he issued his first LP, No! Mamma, no! (live), but with little success. The follow-up Invenzioni met the same fate.
Birth of the "Zerophilia"
It was not until 1976 that he scored his first hit with the single "Madame". "Madame" and the album including it, Trapezio, established a regular and loyal audience for Zero. This was to increase exponentially in the following years, until he could boast a huge following of die-hard fans that he dubbed "Sorcini" ("Little Mice").
The late 1970s were indeed years of great success for Zero's character, with the LPs Zerofobia ("Zerophobia", 1977), Zerolandia (1978) and Erozero (1979) topping the Italian charts. At this time Renato Zero was amongst the two or three most popular singers in Italy and his song "Il Carrozzone" was already regarded, also by critics, as one of the best Italian songs ever.
In 1979 Zero played himself in the movie "Ciao Nì" (his usual greeting to his fans, which can be roughly translated as "Hi pal!"). In Italy this film was to be more successful than the blockbuster "Superman".
The 1980s
In the 1980s he began to abandon make-up and greasepaint, but this did not rid Zero of his mania for grandeur: in the 1980 tour, for example, he entered the scene riding a white horse. In 1982 he began a collaboration with the opera director Renato Serio, who was to write the string arrangements for almost all of Zero's following LPs. In late 1983 he took part in RAI's Fantastico 3, then the most popular Italian TV show.
His career continued to be successful until 1984, with top-charts songs like "Amico" ("Friend") and "Spiagge" ("Beaches"). That year, however, his album Leoni si nasce and the tour of the same name, in which he appeared disguised as a lion and escorted by four aborigines, were commercial failures. The album Zero of 1987 marked the low point of his career: instead of playing in arenas and stadiums, Zero had to sing almost for free in the piazzas and discos of Italy's minor cities.
1990s and 2000s: the Comeback
In 1991 Renato Zero participated to the Sanremo Music Festival with "Spalle al muro", and from that moment on his career began to rise again. In 1993 he was nr.1 in the Italian charts with the LP Quando non sei più nessuno. The following year Imperfetto repeated this success. During his tour concerts would regularly sell out, and he returned to his famous dress changes during the spectacles, although in a less kitsch and more balanced style.
In 2004 his tour "Cattura il sogno/Il sogno continua" (Catch the dream/The dream continues) was awarded from Pollstar magazine as the most successful of the year in Italy and as well as one of the most successful worldwide (#30). The recording af the Roman concerts, held at Olimpico Stadium in June, was the best selled musical DVD of 2004. In 2005 he took part to the Italian stage of Live 8, in the Circo Massimo. In November his new album Il dono ("The Gift") topped the charts and maintained #1 until the end of the year. In December 2005 he performed in the Vatican with a song dedicated to Pope John Paul II. Renato Zero's most recent tour started in February 2006 and is entitled Zero movimento. During some concerts held at the time of the campaign for the April 2006 elections he declared himself against former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Il carrozzone
Renato Zero Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
con le regine i suoi fanti i suoi re
ridi buffone per scaramanzia
così la morte va via
Musica gente
cantate che poi
uno alla volta si scende anche noi
sotto a chi tocca in doppio petto blu
una mattina sei sceso anche tu
Bella la vita
che se ne va
un fiore un freno la tua ricca povertà
il pane caldo la tua poesia
tu che stringevi la tua mano nella mia
Bella la vita
dicevi tu
è un po' mignotta e va con tutti si però
però però
proprio sul meglio
t'ha detto no
Il carrozzone riprende la via
facce truccate di malinconia
tempo per piangere no
non ce n'è
tutto continua anche senza di te
Bella la vita che se ne va
e ti coltivi dove il tempo vola e va
i nostri sogni
la fantasia
ridevi forte la paura e l'allegria
Bella la vita dicevi tu
e t'ha imbrogliato e t'ha fottuto proprio tu
con le regine con i suoi re
Il carrozzone va avanti da sé
Il carrozzone va avanti da sé
The lyrics of Renato Zero's song Il carrozzone convey a sense of resignation and acceptance of the inevitable passage of time, symbolized by the never-ending march of a kind of circus procession or "carrozzone". The singer describes the various figures who make up this parade, from queens to jesters and soldiers, and how they all play their part in a grand spectacle. However, he also acknowledges that this show is ultimately just a distraction from the harsh reality of life and death: "you laugh, jester, for good luck, so death goes away".
The second part of the song is more introspective, with the singer reflecting on the beauty and transience of life. He recalls moments of connection and tenderness ("you who held my hand"), as well as the fleeting joys and pains that make up our existence ("a flower, a brake, your rich poverty, warm bread, your poetry"). Despite the sense of loss and melancholy, the singer still holds on to a certain appreciation of life's gifts and complexities, even if they can also deceive and disappoint us ("life is a bit of a whore and goes with everyone, but even so, even so, just when things were looking up, it said no").
Overall, the song conveys a bittersweet sentiment that is both reflective and wistful, but also accepting of the inevitability of change and loss. It speaks to the universal experience of living in a world that can be both beautiful and cruel, and finding meaning in the moments of grace and connection that we can still experience despite this.
Line by Line Meaning
Il carrozzone va avanti da sé
The wagon moves on its own
con le regine i suoi fanti i suoi re
With queens, soldiers, and kings
ridi buffone per scaramanzia
Laugh clownishly for good luck
così la morte va via
So death goes away
Musica gente
Music people
cantate che poi
Sing because then
uno alla volta si scende anche noi
One by one, we also come down
sotto a chi tocca in doppio petto blu
Under the blue double-breasted jacket of whoever it is
una mattina sei sceso anche tu
One morning, you also came down
Bella la vita
Life is beautiful
che se ne va
That goes away
un fiore un freno la tua ricca povertà
A flower, a brake, your rich poverty
il pane caldo la tua poesia
The warm bread, your poetry
tu che stringevi la tua mano nella mia
You who held my hand
dicevi tu
You used to say
è un po' mignotta e va con tutti si però
It's a bit of a whore, and it goes with everyone, yes, but
però però
however, however
proprio sul meglio
Right at the best part
t'ha detto no
It said no to you
Il carrozzone riprende la via
The wagon resumes the journey
facce truccate di malinconia
Faces made up with melancholy
tempo per piangere no
No time to cry
non ce n'è
There isn't any
tutto continua anche senza di te
Everything continues even without you
i nostri sogni
Our dreams
la fantasia
The fantasy
ridevi forte la paura e l'allegria
You laughed loudly at fear and joy
e t'ha imbrogliato e t'ha fottuto proprio tu
And it tricked you and screwed you over, right you
Contributed by James T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.