Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI (10 November 1928 - 6 July 2020) was an… Read Full Bio ↴Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI (10 November 1928 - 6 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and former trumpet player. He composed a wide range of music styles, making him one of the most versatile, experimental and influential composers of all time, working in any medium.

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.

Se Telefonando
Ennio Morricone Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Lo stupore della notte spalancata sul mar
Ci sorprese che eravamo sconosciuti io e te
Poi nel buio le tue mani d'improvviso sulle mie
È cresciuto troppo in fretta questo nostro amor

Se telefonando
Io potessi dirti addio
Ti chiamerei

Se io rivedendoti
Fossi certo che non soffri
Ti rivedrei

Se guardandoti negli occhi
Sapessi dirti, "Basta"
Ti guarderei
Ma non so spiegarti
Che il nostro amore appena nato
È già finito

Se telefonando
Io potessi dirti addio
Ti chiamerei
Se io rivedendoti
Fossi certo che non soffri
Ti rivedrei

Se guardandoti negli occhi
Sapessi dirti, "Basta"
Ti guarderei
Ma non so spiegarti
Che il nostro amore appena nato

È già finito
È già finito

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Ennio Morricone's "Se Telefonando" are about a brief but intense love affair that has come to an end, leaving the singer with conflicting emotions. The first stanza sets the scene with "the wonder of the night open on the sea," suggesting a romantic and dreamy atmosphere. However, the singer notes that they were strangers at the beginning of the encounter. As the night progresses, the two become intimately involved, with the singer recalling how the other person's hands suddenly touched theirs in the darkness. However, the singer notes that their love has grown too fast and may have already come to an end.

Line by Line Meaning

Lo stupore della notte spalancata sul mar
The awe of the night opening up to the sea

Ci sorprese che eravamo sconosciuti io e te
We were surprised that we were strangers, you and me

Poi nel buio le tue mani d'improvviso sulle mie
Then in darkness, your hands suddenly on mine

È cresciuto troppo in fretta questo nostro amor
This love of ours grew too fast

Se telefonando
If I called you on the phone

Io potessi dirti addio
I could say goodbye to you

Ti chiamerei
I would call you

Se io rivedendoti
If I saw you again

Fossi certo che non soffri
And I was sure you wouldn't suffer

Ti rivedrei
I would see you again

Se guardandoti negli occhi
If I looked into your eyes