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.
Azurro
Adriano Celentano Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
E all'improvviso eccola qua
Lei è partita per le spiagge
e sono solo quassù in città
Sento fischiare sopra i tetti
Un aeroplano che se ne va
Azzurro, il pomeriggio è troppo azzurro
Di non avere più risorse
Senza di te, e allora
io quasi quasi prendo il treno
E vengo, vengo da te
Ma il treno dei desideri
Nei miei pensieri all'incontrario va
Sembra quand'ero all'oratorio
Con tanto sole, tanti anni fa
Quelle domeniche da solo
in un cortile, a passeggiar
Ora mi annoio più di allora
Neanche un prete per chiacchierar
Azzurro, il pomeriggio è troppo azzurro
E lungo per me, mi accorgo
Di non avere più risorse
Senza di te, e allora
io quasi quasi prendo il treno
E vengo, vengo da te
Ma il treno dei desideri
Nei miei pensieri all'incontrario va
Cerco un po' d'Africa in giardino
Tra l'oleandro e il baobab
Come facevo da bambino
ma qui c'è gente, non si può più
Stanno innaffiando le tue rose
Non c'è il leone, chissà dov'è
Azzurro, il pomeriggio è troppo azzurro
E lungo per me, mi accorgo
Di non avere più risorse
Senza di te, e allora
io quasi quasi prendo il treno
E vengo, vengo da te
Ma il treno dei desideri
Nei miei pensieri all'incontrario va
The song "Azurro" by Adriano Celentano is an expression of longing and nostalgia for the summer season. The singer describes how he searches for summer all year round and then suddenly it arrives, but he is left alone in the city while his love interest has gone off to the beaches. He feels the emptiness of the city and hears the sound of an airplane fly away in the distance. The color blue is a recurring theme throughout the song, as it represents the sky and the sea, both of which the singer associates with the summertime.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "Azzurro, il pomeriggio è troppo azzurro" meaning "Blue, the afternoon is too blue," expressing the singer's sense of melancholy at being left behind. He feels he has no resources left without his love interest and is tempted to take the train to be with her, but his thoughts and desires seem to be going in the opposite direction. The singer reflects on his childhood, when he was able to enjoy the summer season freely, but now he is confined to the city with no one to talk to and nothing to do. He even tries to recreate the sense of adventure and exploration from those days by looking for "a little bit of Africa" in his garden, but he realizes that those days are gone.
Overall, "Azurro" is a wistful song that captures the feelings of longing and nostalgia that many people experience for the summer season and the accompanying sense of freedom and adventure that it brings.
Line by Line Meaning
Cerco l'estate tutto l'anno
I am always searching for summer
E all'improvviso eccola qua
And suddenly here it is
Lei è partita per le spiagge
She went to the beaches
e sono solo quassù in città
And I'm alone up here in the city
Sento fischiare sopra i tetti
I hear whistling above the roofs
Un aeroplano che se ne va
A plane that is leaving
Azzurro, il pomeriggio è troppo azzurro
Blue, the afternoon is too blue
E lungo per me, mi accorgo
And too long for me, I realize
Di non avere più risorse
That I don't have any more resources
Senza di te, e allora
Without you, and then
io quasi quasi prendo il treno
I almost take the train
E vengo, vengo da te
And I come, I come to you
Ma il treno dei desideri
But the train of desires
Nei miei pensieri all'incontrario va
In my thoughts is going the opposite way
Sembra quand'ero all'oratorio
It seems like when I was at the oratory
Con tanto sole, tanti anni fa
With so much sun, many years ago
Quelle domeniche da solo
Those Sundays alone
in un cortile, a passeggiar
In a courtyard, walking
Ora mi annoio più di allora
Now I'm more bored than then
Neanche un prete per chiacchierar
Not even a priest to chat with
Cerco un po' d'Africa in giardino
I look for a bit of Africa in the garden
Tra l'oleandro e il baobab
Between the oleander and the baobab
Come facevo da bambino
Like I used to do as a child
ma qui c'è gente, non si può più
But here there are people, you can't do it anymore
Stanno innaffiando le tue rose
They're watering your roses
Non c'è il leone, chissà dov'è
There's no lion, who knows where it is
Contributed by Chloe B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.