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.
Il Grande Sarto
Adriano Celentano Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Da quel giorno
Che sei nato
Ce l'hai
La pelle
Non si compra
Non si vende
Lo sai
Della vita
Non lo si toglie mai
Resta cucito
Sul tuo corpo
Fino a che tu vivrai.
Per te tua madre
Lo compro
E dentro il cuore
Ci posso
E poi un nome
Ti daro
Non uccidere
Gli altri uomini
Sono fatti come te.
La la la
La pelle
E la cosa più importante di te.
Il grande sarto
L'ha creata
Per questa umanità,
Nessuno al mondo
L'ha pagata
Ecco la verità,
Se ringraziare
Lo vorrai
Per questa pelle
Che tu hai
A mani giunte lo farai.
Non uccidere gli altri uomini
So fatti come te.
Coro:
La pelle
E la cosa
Più importante
Di te
In Adriano Celentano's song Il Grande Sarto, he sings about the significance of human skin (pelle) and how it is an integral part of our being, something that we are born with and have until our last breath. He emphasizes how precious and unique it is, and how nothing can compare to it, as it is not something that can be bought or sold. The skin symbolizes the clothing (vestito) of our lives that we wear every day and cannot take off until we die. It is sewn onto our body and remains with us through thick and thin until the end.
Celentano goes on to talk about how our mothers are the ones who gift us this skin at birth, and how they cherish it for us. No one is more invested in our skin than our own mothers. With this gift comes a responsibility to respect and honor our skin as well as others' since every human being shares this commonality. The line "Non uccidere gli altri uomini sono fatti come te," which means do not kill other men as they are made like you, expresses this point.
The chorus repeats that the skin is the most important thing that we have as it is the very essence of who we are. The great tailor (il grande sarto) created it for everyone, and no one in the world has ever paid for it. It is a gift of humanity that we should be grateful for and appreciate.
Overall, Adriano Celentano's Il Grande Sarto is a beautiful ode to human skin, a reminder of its value and significance, and a call for all of us to treat our skin and that of others with respect and care.
Line by Line Meaning
La pelle
Your skin
Da quel giorno
Since the day you were born
Che sei nato
Since you came into this world
Ce l'hai
You have it
Non si compra
It cannot be bought
Non si vende
It cannot be sold
Lo sai
You know it
Questo vestito
This garment
Della vita
Of life
Non lo si toglie mai
You will never take it off
Resta cucito
It stays sewn
Sul tuo corpo
On your body
Fino a che tu vivrai.
As long as you live.
Per te tua madre
For you, your mother
Lo compro
Bought it
E dentro il cuore
And in her heart
Ci posso
She held it
E poi un nome
And then a name
Ti daro
She gave you
Non uccidere
Do not kill
Gli altri uomini
Other human beings
Sono fatti come te.
Are made like you.
La la la
La, la, la
La pelle
Your skin
E la cosa più importante di te.
And it is the most important thing about you.
Il grande sarto
The great tailor
L'ha creata
Created it
Per questa umanità,
For this humanity,
Nessuno al mondo
No one in the world
L'ha pagata
Paid for it
Ecco la verità,
Here is the truth,
Se ringraziare
If you want to thank
Lo vorrai
You will want to
Per questa pelle
For this skin
Che tu hai
That you have
A mani giunte lo farai.
You will do it with clasped hands.
Non uccidere gli altri uomini
Do not kill other human beings
So fatti come te.
They are made like you.
Coro:
Chorus:
La pelle
Your skin
E la cosa
And it is the thing
Più importante
Most important
Di te
About you
Lyrics © Music Union
Written by: Ferdinando De Luca, Gino Santercole, Luciano Beretta, Miki Del Prete
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind