Heavily influenced by his idol, Elvis Presley, and the 1950s rock revolution, he is also known as the most famous dancer of the Hula hoop fad. For the last 40 years he has retained his popularity in Italy, selling millions of records and appearing in numerous TV shows and movies (including a short appearance in Fellini's La Dolce Vita, before becoming a famous artist). In the latter respect, he has also been a creator of a comic genre, with his characteristic walking and his facial expressions. For the most part, his films were commercially successful, in fact in the 1970s and part of the 1980s, he was the king of the Italian box office in low budget movies. As an actor, critics point to Serafino (1968), directed by Pietro Germi, as his best effort.
As a director he frequently casts Ornella Muti, Eleonora Giorgi and his wife Claudia Mori. His best movie like director is "Yuppi Du", winner of The Golden Palm at Cannes Festival. He and Claudia are the parents of Rosita, Rosalinda and Vincent Celentano, the latter most notable to worldwide audiences for playing the Satan character in Mel Gibson`s The Passion of the Christ. He also works often as a host for several Italian television shows.
His 1968 song "Azzurro" has regained popularity in 2006, due to it being the anthem of the Italian national football team (the Azzurri) who won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The artist Vincent Fiorello has also created a remix of the song.
His last concert-event in 2012, after 18 years without live performances, was transmitted on Canale 5, with over 9 million viewers both evenings.
Aria...Non Sei Più Tu
Adriano Celentano Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Vivi costretta in clandestinità
Chiara, piena di quel profumo che
Inebriava i sogni miei
Pura come una vergine eri tu
Vivi stuprata dalla civiltà
Chiusa, ridotta già in cattività
Non puoi curar più i nostri guai
Tu che sei la madre
Condannata a morte dai figli tuoi
E dal sangue del tuo sangue
Leggi di giunte comunali
Con dentro i porci
Che decretan la tua morte
Lo Celentan sempre lo disse
Odia chi distrugge le città
Canta da quella notte di via Gluck
Il pianto dell'umanità
Raccontami di come
Di com'era dolce il sesso
E poi ancor di com'era forte il vento
The lyrics of Adriano Celentano's "Aria...Non Sei Più Tu" (Air...You're Not You Anymore) paint a vivid picture of the loss of something once pure and beautiful. "Aria," or air, represents the essence of life and freedom, which the singer believes has been lost since the person he is singing to is "not herself anymore." She lives in secrecy and cannot tend to the wounds they face. The imagery of her being raped by civilization suggests that society has taken away the innocence that she once had, and now she is trapped in captivity.
The song contains several references to societal issues that plague Italy, such as corruption and destruction, as described in the line "Leggi di giunte comunali con dentro i porci che decretan la tua morte" (Laws from communal councils with pigs inside that decree your death). These issues are responsible for taking away the air or freedom that existed in the past. The singer also laments the fact that this loss affects even the motherland, as people in power exploit her resources and ignore her cries.
The last lines of the song serve to emphasize the beauty of the time when the world was still pure and untarnished. The singer asks to be told how sweet sex was then and how strong the wind blew, harking back to a time of limitless freedom, untainted by the excesses of civilization.
Line by Line Meaning
Aria da quando tu non sei più tu
The atmosphere has changed since you ceased to be yourself.
Vivi costretta in clandestinità
You live constrained in secrecy.
Chiara, piena di quel profumo che
Inebriava i sogni miei
Bright, replete with that aroma that had intoxicated my dreams.
Pura come una vergine eri tu
You were pure as a virgin.
Vivi stuprata dalla civiltà
You live raped by civilization.
Chiusa, ridotta già in cattività
Non puoi curar più i nostri guai
Closed, already reduced to captivity, you can no longer heal our troubles.
Tu che sei la madre
Condannata a morte dai figli tuoi
E dal sangue del tuo sangue
Leggi di giunte comunali
Con dentro i porci
Che decretano la tua morte
You who are the mother, condemned to death by your own children and by the blood of your blood, by the regulations of local councils, with the pigs within that decree your death.
Lo Celentan sempre lo disse
Celentano always said it.
Odia chi distrugge le città
Canta da quella notte di via Gluck
Il pianto dell'umanità
He hates those who destroy cities, and sings since that night in Via Gluck the weeping of humanity.
Raccontami di come
Di com'era dolce il sesso
E poi ancor di com'era forte il vento
Tell me about how sweet sex was, and then even more about how strong the wind was.
Writer(s): Danijel Vuletic, Lorenzo Cherubini
Contributed by Connor S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.