Since 1946 Morricone composed over 500 scores for cinema and television, as well as over 100 classical works. His filmography includes over 70 award-winning films, including all Sergio Leone films since A Fistful of Dollars (including For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West and Once Upon a Time in America), all Giuseppe Tornatore films (since Cinema Paradiso), The Battle of Algiers, the Animal Trilogy, 1900, Exorcist II, Days of Heaven, several major films in French cinema, in particular the comedy trilogy La Cage aux Folles I, II, III and Le Professionnel, The Thing, The Mission, The Untouchables, Mission to Mars, Bugsy, Disclosure, In the Line of Fire, Bulworth, Ripley's Game and The Hateful Eight.
After playing the trumpet in jazz bands in the 1940s, he became a studio arranger for RCA Victor and in 1955 started ghost writing for film and theatre. Throughout his career, he composed music for artists such as Paul Anka, Mina, Milva, Zucchero and Andrea Bocelli. From 1960 to 1975, Morricone gained international fame for composing music for westerns. His score to 1966's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is considered one of the most influential soundtracks in history and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. With an estimated 10 million copies sold, Once Upon a Time in the West is one of the best-selling scores worldwide. He also scored seven westerns for Sergio Corbucci, Duccio Tessari's Ringo duology and Sergio Sollima's The Big Gundown and Face to Face. Morricone worked extensively for other film genres with directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Mauro Bolognini, Giuliano Montaldo, Roland Joffé, Roman Polanski and Henri Verneuil. His acclaimed soundtrack for The Mission (1986) was certified gold in the United States. The album Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone stayed 105 weeks on the Billboard Top Classical Albums.
Morricone's best-known compositions include "The Ecstasy of Gold", "Se Telefonando", "Man with a Harmonica", "Here's to You", the UK No. 2 single "Chi Mai", "Gabriel's Oboe" and "E Più Ti Penso". He functioned during the period 1966–1980 as a main member of Il Gruppo, one of the first experimental composers collectives. In 1969, he co-founded Forum Music Village, a prestigious recording studio. From the 1970s, Morricone excelled in Hollywood, composing for prolific American directors such as Don Siegel, Mike Nichols, Brian De Palma, Barry Levinson, Oliver Stone, Warren Beatty and Quentin Tarantino. In 1977, he composed the official theme for the 1978 FIFA World Cup. He continued to compose music for European productions, such as Marco Polo, La Piovra, Nostromo, Fateless, Karol and En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait. Morricone's music has been reused in television series, including The Simpsons and The Sopranos, and in many films, including Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained.
As of 2013, Ennio Morricone has sold over 70 million records worldwide. In 1971, he received a "Targa d'Oro" for the worldwide sales of 22 million.[8] In 2007, he received the Academy Honorary Award "for his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music." He has been nominated for a further six Oscars. In 2016, Morricone received his first Academy Award for his score to Quentin Tarantino's film The Hateful Eight (2015), becoming the oldest person ever to win an Oscar. His other achievements include three Grammy Awards, three Golden Globes, six BAFTAs, ten David di Donatello, eleven Nastro d'Argento, two European Film Awards, the Golden Lion Honorary Award and the Polar Music Prize in 2010. He died in his home city of Rome, Italy in 2020 at the age of 91, leaving a grand legacy behind him.
Here's to You
Ennio Morricone Lyrics
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Rest forever here in our hearts
The last and final moment is yours
That agony is your triumph
Here's to you, Nicola and Bart
Rest forever here in our hearts
The last and final moment is yours
Here's to you, Nicola and Bart
Rest forever here in our hearts
The last and final moment is yours
That agony is your triumph
Here's to you, Nicola and Bart
Rest forever here in our hearts
The last and final moment is yours
That agony is your triumph
Here's to you, Nicola and Bart
Rest forever here in our hearts
The last and final moment is yours
That agony is your triumph
Here's to you, Nicola and Bart
Rest forever here in our hearts
The last and final moment is yours
That agony is your triumph
Here's to you
Ennio Morricone's song "Here's to You" is a tribute to two political activists, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, who were executed in 1927 for robbery and murder, but whom many believed were wrongly convicted due to anti-Italian and anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States at the time. Morricone's lyrics are a eulogy of sorts, honoring the memory of Nicola and Bart and celebrating their strength and resilience in the face of their unjust demise.
In the chorus, Morricone repeats the phrase "Rest forever here in our hearts," emphasizing the lasting impact that Nicola and Bart's struggles have had on society. He suggests that their final moments, filled with agony and despair, were ultimately their triumph as they became symbols of resistance and perseverance. The repetition of these lines throughout the song is a powerful reminder of their legacy and the importance of continuing to fight for justice and equality.
Line by Line Meaning
Here's to you, Nicola and Bart
We raise a toast to Nicola and Bart, in honor of their bravery and sacrifice.
Rest forever here in our hearts
Even though Nicola and Bart have passed, they will remain forever in our hearts and memories.
The last and final moment is yours
Nicola and Bart faced their final moments with dignity and bravery, and those moments belong to them alone.
That agony is your triumph
Even though Nicola and Bart suffered greatly, their ability to endure and persevere despite their agony is a triumph in itself.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Joan Baez, Ennio Morricone
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind