Following a spell in London he began performing as a one-man-band playing guitar, harmonica, kazoo and kick drum. He shaped his character on Blues and Rock, fusing them with mediterranean elements.
His debut album called "Non farti cadere le braccia" was published in 1973. Over the next few years Bennato became one of the main Italian singer-songwriters for the counter-cultural youth movement, with songs which fused social protest with irony and sarcasm. "Burattino senza fili" (1978) which used Pinocchio's fable as a metaphor for Bennato's social commentary, introduced him to a more mainstream audience. His popularity was at its highest peak during a triumphal tour that included the St. Siro Stadium in Milan for an unforgettable concert in front of 70.000 people.
Nowadays he has 29 album published, and conuntered various collaborations: he performed with Bo Diddley, B.B. King and Jeff Healy. Still memorable are the great concerts at Hallenstadium in Zurich and at the Prater in Wien (1977), his partecipations at Montreux Jazz Festival (1987, 1992) and at the Apollo Theatre in New York City (1987) and the monogram of the Championship 1990 "Un'estate Italiana", sung with Gianna Nannini, which remained in hit parade for four months and went all around the world.
Still performing succesfully on stage with his new songs , he's also engaged in a new theatrical production: the Italian musical Peter Pan. The soundtrack of the Italian version is totally composed by Edoardo Bennato's lyrics, taken from his concept album "Sono solo canzonette" a musical transcription of the tale of Peter Pan which is going to be translated into English.
Official web site: www.bennato.net
**** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** ****
DISCOGRAPHY
NON FARTI CADERE LE BRACCIA (1973)
I BUONI E I CATTIVI (1974)
IO CHE NON SONO L’IMPERATORE (1975)
LA TORRE DI BABELE (1976)
BURATTINO SENZA FILI (1977)
UFFA, UFFA (1980)
SONO SOLO CANZONETTE (1980)
E’ ARRIVATO UN BASTIMENTO (1983)
E’ GOAL (live) (1984)
KAIWANNA (1985)
OK ITALIA (1987)
EDOARDO LIVE (1987)
IL GIOCO CONTINUA (1988)
ABBI DUBBI (1989)
EDO RINNEGATO (1990)
E’ ASCIUTO PAZZO ‘O PADRONE (1992)
IL PAESE DEI BALOCCHI (1992)
PERSONE PULITE (1993)
SE SON ROSE FIORIRANNO (1994)
LE RAGAZZE FANNO GRANDI SOGNI (1995)
QUARTETTO D’ARCHI (1996)
W LA MAMMA (Spanish) (1996)
SBANDATO (1998)
SEMBRA IERI (2000)
AFFERRARE UNA STELLA (2001)
IL PRINCIPE E IL PIRATA – soundtrack (2001)
L’UOMO OCCIDENTALE (2003)
TOTO’ SAPORE E LA MAGICA STORIA DELLA PIZZA - soundtrack (2004)
LA FANTASTICA STORIA DEL PIFFERAIO MAGICO (2005)
Roma
Edoardo Bennato Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sempre più appartati
Tra file di turisti organizzati
A fotografare, quella loro gita
Quel viaggio che hanno atteso tutta la vita
E noi sempre più stanchi
Di attraversare i ponti
Sempre pendolari, tra inferno e paradiso
Tra l'indirizzo grigio di un ministero
E quello di una donna bella davvero....
Roma croce e delizia
Di anime sante, di artisti folli
Roma, dei sette re, dei sette colli
Roma come un romanzo
Piccole storie e grandi date
Roma di primi incontri e di adunate....
Sempre indaffarata
Sempre in movimento
Tra un decreto legge e un sentimento
Opere di bene, sogni e ambizioni
Strade di una favola infinita
Che portano tutte alla stessa meta....
Roma croce e delizia....
Roma, con le sue facce
Gente alla buona, uomini forti
Roma delle borgate e dei salotti
....Donne alle finestre
Sempre pronte a conservare
Cibo per i gatti
Del cortile popolare
E a Campo dei fiori
La statua di Giordano Bruno
Lì in quel mercato da tanto tempo
Che non ci fa caso più nessuno....
Roma croce e delizia....
Roma, stracittadina
Di Roma Lazio, di zero a zero
Roma del Vaticano, del mondo intero
The lyrics of Edoardo Bennato's song "Roma" depict the city of Rome as a place that is becoming increasingly commercialized and touristy, where the locals are feeling more and more disconnected from their own home. The lines "Always further away, always more secluded / Amongst rows of organized tourists / Taking pictures of that long-awaited trip / That journey they've been waiting for their whole life" paint a picture of how Rome is becoming just another tourist destination, with people visiting from all over the world to tick it off their bucket lists.
Despite its changes, Rome remains a city of great historical and cultural significance. Bennato celebrates Rome's past by mentioning its seven hills and seven kings, and describes it as a city of saints and crazy artists. The line "Rome like a novel / Small stories and great dates" recognizes how Rome has been the setting for countless stories throughout history, from Julius Caesar's assassination to Federico Fellini's cinematic masterpieces.
Bennato also highlights the contrast between the bureaucratic aspects of the city and the beauty of its people and places. He mentions "the grey address of a ministry / And that of a truly beautiful woman", implying that Rome is a city of contradictions. Overall, the song is an ode to the city's richness and complexities while acknowledging its transformation over time.
Line by Line Meaning
Sempre più lontani
We are always further away
Sempre più appartati
Always more secluded
Tra file di turisti organizzati
Amongst organized tourist groups
A fotografare, quella loro gita
Taking pictures of their trips
Quel viaggio che hanno atteso tutta la vita
The journey they have waited for their entire life
E noi sempre più stanchi
And we are always more tired
Di attraversare i ponti
Crossing bridges
Sul fiume che non vedi e che non senti
Over a river that you cannot see or hear
Sempre pendolari, tra inferno e paradiso
Always commuters, between hell and heaven
Tra l'indirizzo grigio di un ministero
Between the gray address of a ministry
E quello di una donna bella davvero....
And that of a truly beautiful woman....
Roma croce e delizia
Rome, blessing and curse
Di anime sante, di artisti folli
Of holy souls, of crazy artists
Roma, dei sette re, dei sette colli
Rome, of the seven kings, of the seven hills
Roma come un romanzo
Rome like a novel
Piccole storie e grandi date
Small stories and great dates
Roma di primi incontri e di adunate....
Rome of first meetings and rallies....
Sempre indaffarata
Always busy
Sempre in movimento
Always on the move
Tra un decreto legge e un sentimento
Between a law and a feeling
Opere di bene, sogni e ambizioni
Good deeds, dreams, and ambitions
Strade di una favola infinita
Streets of an infinite fairytale
Che portano tutte alla stessa meta....
That all lead to the same destination....
Roma, con le sue facce
Rome, with its faces
Gente alla buona, uomini forti
Good people and strong men
Roma delle borgate e dei salotti
Rome of the outskirts and the salons
Donne alle finestre
Women at the windows
Sempre pronte a conservare
Always ready to preserve
Cibo per i gatti
Food for cats
Del cortile popolare
In the working-class courtyard
E a Campo dei fiori
And at Campo dei Fiori
La statua di Giordano Bruno
The statue of Giordano Bruno
Lì in quel mercato da tanto tempo
There, in that market for so long
Che non ci fa caso più nessuno....
That no one notices anymore....
Roma stracittadina
Rome, tight and crowded
Di Roma Lazio, di zero a zero
Of Rome Lazio, zero to zero
Roma del Vaticano, del mondo intero
Rome of the Vatican, of the whole world
Contributed by Jordan J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Roberto Loffredo
Che musica!!!
Filippo Susi
sei un grande Edo la tua musica è pura e insostituibile
Davide Adelchino
grande edo
Giovanni Valentini
Un Napoletano che canta incantato la città eterna...canzone stupenda!
Maurizio Caprari
bellissima e su spazi distesi la chitarra iniziale...
Angelica Aranguren
roma ti amo