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.
La Gonna E L'Insalata
Adriano Celentano Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Non ci speravo piu ormai
Ieri sera quando sei salita su da me
E sulla porta mi hai baciato
Il mio cuore si e fermato
E intanto che morivo
Pensavo ai giorni perduti
Vissuti senza di noi.
Nei giorni che tu non c'eri
Vivevo con un'altra
Era stupenda
Come sei tu
Lei giocava con i suoi modi
Per attirarmi
E io l'amavo
Sempre di piu.
Ma poi si sa
Succede che
Troppo sicuri si e di se;
Ed era compito di lei
Farsi piacere da me ma dopo un po'
Lei comincio
A trascurare quel suo far
Che mi faceva innamorar
Come facesti tu con me.
Non ti ricordi quando noi
Coglievamo un po' d'insalata e tu
Con la gonna blu
Ti abbassavi apposta...
Davanti a me
Tu lo facevi,
Volevi che io ti guardassi
E io ti guardavo li sull'insalata
Poi ci amavamo.
Ma poi la favola fini
E l'insalata ingialli
La gonna blu
Tu non ti mettevi piu
Preferivi imprigionare
Le tue curve
In una tuta
Militare. ma ora che sei qui
Con la gonna blu;
Non lasciarmi piu, Non toglierti la gonna...
Non togliertela piu...
The lyrics of Adriano Celentano's song, La Gonna E L'Insalata, narrate the story of the singer's longing for a lost love. The song begins with Celentano confessing that he had not seen her in a long time and had given up hope of ever seeing her again. However, her unexpected visit to his home leads him to reminisce about the time they had lost together.
Celentano then goes on to reveal that during their time apart, he had been with another woman who was just as stunning as his lost love. However, this relationship did not last long, and he soon realized that the woman was only playing with his emotions. He compares this experience to the way his lost love had captured his heart, and laments the time he had wasted with the other woman.
The song concludes with Celentano reminiscing about a fond memory he had shared with his lost love - picking lettuce in a garden. He remembers how she would purposely bend over to pick the lettuce, in front of him, wearing a blue skirt. This memory brings back his deep love and appreciation for her curves and beauty. He ends the song by begging her to stay with him and never take off her skirt again.
Overall, La Gonna E L'Insalata is a song about lost love and the regrets that come with it. It speaks to the pain of looking back on a relationship that could have been, and the fear of losing someone again.
Line by Line Meaning
Non ti vedevo da quel giorno
I haven't seen you since that day
Non ci speravo piu ormai
I had given up hope
Ieri sera quando sei salita su da me
Last night, when you came up to my place
E sulla porta mi hai baciato
And you kissed me at the door
Il mio cuore si e fermato
My heart stopped
E intanto che morivo
And as I was dying
Pensavo ai giorni perduti
I thought about the days we lost
Vissuti senza di noi.
Lived without each other
Nei giorni che tu non c'eri
On the days when you weren't there
Vivevo con un'altra
I was living with someone else
Era stupenda
She was beautiful
Come sei tu
Like you
Lei giocava con i suoi modi
She played with her ways
Per attirarmi
To attract me
E io l'amavo
And I loved her
Sempre di piu.
More and more.
Ma poi si sa
But then you know
Succede che
It happens that
Troppo sicuri si e di se;
Too confident in oneself;
Ed era compito di lei
And it was her job
Farsi piacere da me ma dopo un po'
To make me like her but after a while
Lei comincio
She began
A trascurare quel suo far
To neglect what she did
Che mi faceva innamorar
That made me fall in love
Come facesti tu con me.
Like you did with me.
Non ti ricordi quando noi
Don't you remember when we
Coglievamo un po' d'insalata e tu
Were picking some salad and you
Con la gonna blu
With the blue skirt
Ti abbassavi apposta...
You bent down on purpose...
Davanti a me
In front of me
Tu lo facevi,
You did it,
Volevi che io ti guardassi
You wanted me to look at you
E io ti guardavo li sull'insalata
And I looked at you, there on the salad
Poi ci amavamo.
Then we made love.
Ma poi la favola fini
But then the story ended
E l'insalata ingialli
And the salad turned yellow
La gonna blu
The blue skirt
Tu non ti mettevi piu
You didn't wear it anymore
Preferivi imprigionare
You preferred to imprison
Le tue curve
Your curves
In una tuta
In a jumpsuit
Militare. ma ora che sei qui
Military. But now that you're here
Con la gonna blu;
With the blue skirt;
Non lasciarmi piu, Non toglierti la gonna...
Don't leave me again. Don't take off your skirt...
Non togliertela piu...
Don't take it off anymore...
Contributed by Natalie I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.