Sultry voice, poetic lyrics and surprising harmonies are just a part of the recipe that makes Chiara's music so irresistible.
The distance she has traveled is both musical and spiritual-literally stretching across the Atlantic Ocean. Born in Rome, Chiara was encouraged to play the piano by her grandmother; she kids that her nonna's out-of-tune upright afforded the best ear training. She briefly tried the acoustic guitar, but that ended almost comically with a drive to get some gelato. "The little car only had two doors," she remembers. "When I sat down, I broke the neck of the guitar. That was it for me. No more guitar. My mother said, 'You'd better sing, girl!'"
Chiara had already been in some classical choirs, but was looking for something freer than the operatic traditions of her homeland. A friend suggested that she learn jazz; she'd never heard of it. A little investigation brought her to a private music school that she would attend through her four years of high school: the St. Louis Music Academy in Rome. When she was sixteen, Chiara began singing professionally and won a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. She enrolled there from 1994-98. By the first year Chiara was a regular on the Boston club scene, performing with different bands.
But her journey didn't end with Boston or jazz. Chiara's move to New York City was inevitable. Searching for something musically closer to her Mediterranean roots, she immersed herself in Latin and Brazilian music, learning Spanish and Portuguese along the way. She also wrote her first song, "Parole Incerte" ("Uncertain Words"), about the misunderstandings that can come from the distance between a person and her loved ones.
Meanwhile, two of Chiara's bandmates - pianist Alain Mallet and drummer Jamey Haddad - had begun working with Paul Simon and invited her to a rehearsal. It was there that she met producer Russ Titelman and left him with a demo of "Parole Incerte." He called the very next day and insisted, "You are a songwriter. Forget about everything else you are doing. You have to write." Chiara began composing lyrics in English. She studied the work of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor.
Titelman let president and CEO of Verve hear the song and the next day Chiara was offered a record deal that not only allowed her to enter the studio but made her the first Italian born to be signed by Verve Records.
From this series of encouraging and exciting encounters emerged the 10 original compositions included on her debut album LAST QUARTER MOON, Verve2005; seven written by herself and three co-writes, including the brooding ballad "Trouble" that was co-written with legend Burt Bacharach. "I had almost every song on the album," recalls Chiara, "when Russ called me to say that Burt Bacharach was interested in writing with me." "Trouble" came together during a three day session at Bacharach's Los Angeles home. Chiara arrived with an idea for the melody; they shaped and refined it as a team.
The first album granted her a first round of the world and great position in the charts of italy and Japan.
Billboard Magazine noted that, “the beauty, charm and allure of singer/pianist/songwriter Chiara Civello’s debut…makes for an auspicious beginning and marks the first revelation of the New Year.” The International Herald Tribune declared “her combination of personality, soulfulness and sophistication…striking.”
The second album The Space Between (2007 Universal Classic and Jazz) produced by Steve Addabbo , shows a more intimate and immediate side of the singer songwriter, leading us us through a journey of thirteen beautiful moments where we feel we can get really close to her.
“This is a record about ‘the space between’. The space between the notes, the silence between words, the space between me and you, me and my past, me and my future, and all the spaces between that nowadays are so difficult to stop and think about….the space between that makes you feel the reality better, the space that makes you miss someone, the space between that makes you not say everything all at once, but bit by bit, as the need of saying it gets stronger in you. The space between what I think and what I say… In Italy, we have a saying: Between saying and doing, there is the sea.”
The album entered successfully the Italian and Japanese chiarts and led her to new important artistic collaborations.
Definitely an itinerant soul, Chiara describes her life as:” My home is the world, as long as there’s a piano at the destination, my world fits in a suitcase, the rest I carry with me : my computer and my guitar.
"Jazz was the most incredible diving machine when it came to going really deep into music," says Civello, about her path of discovery, one sure to continue in the future. "But I knew I couldn't be the new Ella Fitzgerald; I couldn't be the new Shirley Horn. I learned all different kinds of music and then I said to myself, 'I need to find my own voice. Time to unlearn now, time to be free.' It's like a hot air balloon: To be able to fly you have to throw off the sandbags. I want to be as light as I can-light as a feather."
“In the first album you search, in the second you focus, in the third you find yourself…. and here I am,” says Chiara Civello in describing her third album titled “7752” of upcoming release.
7752 is the distance in Kilometers from New York City to Rio de Janeiro, the two cities that provided the inspiration for this album. New York is where Chiara lives, while Rio changed Chiara’s life…
While visiting her friend, Daniel Jobim, in Rio in February 2008, Chiara was taken to a party (known as SARAO) where artists and musicians of all kinds get together. The guitar went around and everyone sang a song. As Chiara shared, listened, and learned, a new phase of her artistic path began.
“Co-writing I was already familiar with,” says Chiara, “since those unforgettable three days spent in Santa Monica in which I wrote Trouble with Burt Bacharach for my first album…but in Brazil everyone co writes. It’s a big party, everyone shares and dares and makes it happen.”
Ana Carolina, a Brazilian pop star, is one of the main collaborators of 7752. Not only did she co-write five of the songs with Chiara, but she also played acoustic guitar on most of them. “We met at that party and she asked me if I had a melody for her, so the next day I started RESTA, a song that soon after we finished together and sang as a duet live in Sao Paulo.” Success has already accompanied the collaboration with Ana Carolina, as RESTA will be featured on the new Novela of Globo TV called “Passione,” starting on May 17, 2010.
Written between Rio, New York, and Trastevere (Rome), 7752 includes ten musical moments of which eight were recorded in NYC (and produced by the eclectic producer Andres Levin), while four were recorded in Rio and produced by Chiara herself.
“All my friends and favorite musicians merged into this record in the most natural way…it was like bringing the Rio spirit into the studio: Mauro Refosco (Thom Yorke, David Byrne, Forro’ in The Dark) and Guilherme Monteiro (Ron Carter, Forro in The Dark) had already recorded with me and I couldn’t possibly think of a record without them, Anat Cohen is one of my best friends and I have always wanted to have her on my album but we never were able to make it happen; Jaques Morelenbaum is one of the most talented and sentimental musicians I have ever met; Mark Ribot was the perfect guy for these songs, not to mention the great rhythm section that Andres brought in the studio, Gene Lake on the drums and Jonathan Maron on the bass. Ana Carolina who wrote most of the songs with me already owned them on the acoustic guitar and added her tremendous groove to them”.
Already defined as an “enticing and contagious” album, 7752 sounds lively, while portraying a new, playful and joyous aspect of Chiara’s singing and songwriting. The sound is a beautiful alchemy among the 60s, Italian melody, Brazilian harmonies, and R&B.
http://www.chiaracivello.com
Non andare via
Chiara Civello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tutto quello che se ne è andato già
Tutti i malintesi e e tutti i perché
Che uccidevano la felicità
Puoi dimenticare tutto il tempo che e passato già
Non esiste più
Non andare via
Non andare viaNon andare via
Io... io t'offrirò perle di pioggia
Venute da dove non piove mai
cprirò la terra giù fino nel fondo
Per coprirti d'oro d'oro e di luce
E ti porterò dove non c'è più
Che quel che tu vuoi
Che quel che tu cerchi
Non andare via
Non andare via
Non andare via
Non andare via
Per te inventerò
Le parole pazze che tu capirai
E ti parlerò di due amanti che
Per due volte già hanno visto il fuoco
Ti racconterò la storia di un re
Che è mori perchè non ti vide mai
Non andare via
Non andare via
Non andare via
Nel vulcano spento
Che credevi morto molte volte il fuoco
Ed il fuoco brucia tutto quanto intorno
E non riconosce niente e nessuno
Che quando c'e sera se c'e' fuoco in cielo
Il rosso ed il nero
Non hanno un confine
Non andare via
Non andare via
Non andare via
Non andare via
Io non piango piu
Io non parlo piu mi nasconderò
E ti parlerò quando riderai
E ti sentirò quando canterai
Sarò solo l ombra della tua ombra
Della tua mano
Ombra del tuo cane
Non andare via
Non andare via
Non andare via
In Chiara Civello's song "Non andare via," the recurring plea for the beloved not to leave permeates the lyrics, establishing a poignant theme of desire and desperation. The singer urges their partner to forget past grievances, misunderstandings, and lost moments that overshadow their relationship. This plea becomes a powerful indictment of how negative experiences can cloud happiness. It emphasizes the idea that even though past difficulties have existed, they should not dictate the present or the future. The repetition of "Non andare via" (meaning "Don't go away") serves as both a mantra and a desperate plea, underscoring the singer's fear of abandonment and isolation.
Moving beyond the initial sorrowful acknowledgment of pain, the singer offers imaginative and almost fantastical promises in an attempt to win their partner's heart back. They pledge to shower their loved one with "perle di pioggia" (pearls of rain) and make grand gestures to signify devotion. The imagery of "gold and light" imbues the lyrics with a sense of richness, depth, and the beauty of a new beginning. This part of the song resonates with the desire to create a safe haven for their partner, a utopia where all desires will be satisfied, portraying hopeful aspirations amidst emotional turmoil. The singer, through vivid imagery, desires to construct an ideal world that contrasts starkly with the hardships faced, thus inviting the beloved to reconsider the worth of their connection.
The lyrics then transition into stories and metaphors, where the singer promises to weave tales that bridge the gap between experience and understanding. By invoking themes of love tested through the trials of fire, and a king who perished from ignorance of his love, the singer illustrates the larger narrative of love's fragility. These stories serve not just as a reflection on the past but as an acknowledgment of the deep connections forged through shared experiences of struggle and passion. The singer's words suggest that despite hardships, love can survive and even flourish if nurtured by understanding and communication. The emotional depth of these stories emphasizes that the singer recognizes the shared human experience and hopes to illuminate the feelings that may reside within their partner’s heart.
In the final verses, a metaphorical transformation occurs. The "vulcano spento" or "extinguished volcano" represents deadened emotions, yet the resurgence of fire symbolizes the potential for rebirth and renewal. This powerful imagery implies that even in the depths of despair and silence, love can reignite, push away numbness, and bring warmth back into a relationship. The commitment to become an "ombra della tua ombra" (shadow of your shadow) encapsulates the longing to remain close to the beloved, even when circumstances feel insurmountable. In the guise of an attentive shadow, the singer expresses devotion without overwhelming their partner, suggesting an acceptance of the current condition while still yearning for emotional closeness. The song's poignant refrain resonates throughout, leaving listeners with a bittersweet sense of hope illuminated by love's resilience amidst the complexities of communication and connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Non andare via puoi dimenticare
Please don't leave; you can let go of all painful memories.
Tutto quello che se ne è andato già
Everything that has already slipped away in the past.
Tutti i malintesi e e tutti i perché
All the misunderstandings and unanswered questions.
Che uccidevano la felicità
That extinguished our joy.
Puoi dimenticare tutto il tempo che è passato già
You can forget all the time that has already gone by.
Non esiste più
It holds no relevance anymore.
Non andare via
Please, remain with me.
Non andare via
I implore you not to leave.
Non andare via
Stay here, don’t depart.
Io... io t'offrirò perle di pioggia
I will offer you precious gifts that nurture your soul.
Venute da dove non piove mai
From a place where the dry years seem endless.
Coprirei la terra giù fino nel fondo
I would cover the earth beneath with my devotion.
Per coprirti d'oro d'oro e di luce
To envelop you in riches and brilliance.
E ti porterò dove non c'è più
I will take you to a place free of pain.
Che quel che tu vuoi
To fulfill your deepest desires.
Che quel che tu cerchi
To lead you to what you are searching for.
Non andare via
Please, don’t leave me.
Non andare via
Stay with me, I beg you.
Non andare via
Don't depart; I need you here.
Non andare via
Please, remain close to my heart.
Per te inventerò
For you, I will create beautiful words.
Le parole pazze che tu capirai
The whimsical phrases that will resonate with you.
E ti parlerò di due amanti che
And I will tell you tales of lovers who.
Per due volte già hanno visto il fuoco
Twice experienced the passion's flame.
Ti racconterò la storia di un re
I will recount the tale of a king.
Che è mori perchè non ti vide mai
Who perished because he never laid eyes on you.
Non andare via
Again, I plead: don’t leave me.
Non andare via
Stay, my love.
Non andare via
Please stay by my side.
Nel vulcano spento
In the dormant volcano of our past.
Che credevi morto molte volte il fuoco
Where you thought the fire had died many times.
E rinato ancora
Yet, it has been reborn once more.
Ed il fuoco brucia tutto quanto intorno
And the flames engulf everything around it.
E non riconosce niente e nessuno
It recognizes neither place nor person.
Che quando c'e sera se c'e' fuoco in cielo
When evening falls and there’s fire in the skies.
Il rosso ed il nero
The colors of passion and despair.
Non hanno un confine
Merge without boundaries.
Non andare via
Please, don't leave me again.
Non andare via
I urge you to stay.
Non andare via
My heart belongs to you; remain.
Non andare via
Stay with me, I can't bear your absence.
Io non piango piu
I no longer shed tears for what was lost.
Io non parlo piu mi nasconderò
I will remain quiet and retreat into myself.
E ti parlerò quando riderai
But I will speak to you when you smile.
E ti sentirò quando canterai
And I will feel your presence when you sing.
Sarò solo l'ombra della tua ombra
I will be merely a reflection of your essence.
Della tua mano
Your smallest gestures will guide me.
Ombra del tuo cane
Even as a shadow of your loved ones.
Non andare via
I plead once again: please do not leave.
Non andare via
My heart aches at the thought of you leaving.
Non andare via
Stay with me, always.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Jacques Brel
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind