De André was born in Genoa, Liguria, Italy. His father was an anti-fascist, and during the war the De André family had to seek refuge in a country farm near Revignano d'Asti, Piedmont. The family returns in Genoa in 1945. Fabrizio studied law at the University of Genoa, but left before graduating.
His first instrument was the violin, and then he took up the guitar, playing in local jazz bands. In 1958 he recorded his first two songs: Nuvole barocche ("Baroque Clouds") and E fu la notte ("Then Night Came"). In 1962 he married Puny Rignon, a Genoese woman nearly ten years his senior. The same year the couple had their first and only son, Cristiano De André, who would follow in his father's footsteps to become a musician and songwriter.
Over the years that followed, De André, inspired mainly by George Brassens' works, wrote a number of songs which made him known by a larger public; his song La canzone di Marinella ("Marinella's Song") was recorded in 1968 by the famous Italian singer, Mina, and its author was acclaimed as the most important Italian cantautore, or singer-songwriter.
The first De André EP, "Volume I", was released in 1967, and contain three af the most famous Fabrizio's songs: "Via del Campo" (literally "Field Street", a famous street of Genoa), "Bocca di Rosa" and "Carlo Martello ritorna dalla battaglia di Poitiers" ("Charles Martel on His Way Back From Poitiers"). The last one was written with Paolo Villaggio, a famous italian actor and also De André's friend.
His second album "Tutti Morimmo A Stento"("We all died hardly"), released in 1968, contains songs as "Leggenda Di Natale" based on the song "Le Père Noël et la Petite Fille", written by George Brassens, one of the most important influence for Fabrizio.
In 1968 was also released the thirt De André's album, Volume III, one of the most important album of this first period. In this album there are two songs inspired by Brassens' poetry, "Il Gorilla" and "Nell'acqua della chiara fontana". Other famous songs are "La guerra di Piero"("Piero's war") "La canzone di Marinella"(Marinella's Song"), previously released by Mina, and "S'I' Fossi Foco"(If I were Fire"), from a poem by Cecco Angiolieri.
In 1970 was released "La Buona Novella"("The Good Novella"), a religious concept album based on the vision of Christ's life told in Apocrypha. The album was very controversial for Jesus' vision by De André and especially for the song "Il testamento di Tito" ("Titus' Will"), in which one of the thieves crucified together with Jesus confutes violently the Ten Commandments.
In 1971 was released one of the most famous and the most important De André's album, "Non al denaro non all'amore né al Cielo" based on Edgar Lee Masters "Spoon River Anthology", translated in italian by the famous italian poetess Fernanda Pivano, one of Fabrizio's best friend.
* "La collina" is based on "The Hill"
* "Un matto" is based on "Frank Drummer", in which a man memorizes the Encyclopedia Britannica and is considered mad by the people of Spoon River.
* "Un Giudice" is based on Selah Lively, the story of a midget who studies law and becomes a judge to get a revenge against the people who made fun of him all his life.
* "Un blasfemo" is based on "Wendell P. Bloyd".
* "Un malato di cuore" is based on "Francis Turner", in which a man dies of a heart attack while giving his first kiss.
* "Un medico" is based on "Dr. Siegfried Iseman", the story of a doctor who wants to cure poor people without receiving any payment.
* "Un chimico" is based on "Trainor, the Chemist", in which a chemist, who doesn't understand the relationships between men and women but loves chemical elements, dies while executing an experiment.
* "Un ottico" is based on "Dippold the Optician", the story of an optician who wants to create special glasses which show strange images.
* "Il suonatore Jones" is based on "Fiddler Jones".
Two years later was published another important album in Fabrizio's career, "Storia di un Impiegato"("The Story of a White-Collar"), in which De André analyses the Year Of Lead, (in Italy a period of political tensions, between 1968 and 80s characterized by bomb's massacre by neo-fascist and by kidnapping and by murders by Brigate Rosse and other subversive organization). This is another concept album, in which a man, inspired by French May, decided to rebel against the society knowing finally that his bomb and his rebellion was controlled by the State and directed to make the power stronger. This is one of the most complicated and hermetic album by De André.
The year after was released a new album, "Canzoni"("Songs"), in which De André translated some famous songs by Bob Dylan("Via della Povertà", in english "Desolation Row"), Leonard Cohen and Brassens, but also unreleased songs as "La Città Vecchia"("The Old City"), another highly famous song. Is important to see how from this album and so on, De André was highly inspired by American Folk music.
De André divorced his wife Puny, and started a relationship with the folksinger Dori Ghezzi. In 1975 he began to perform in a series of memorable concerts (after his first performances of the early 1960s, he had always refused to appear in public, except for a couple of television broadcasts).
In this year was released the new album, Volume VIII, written with Francesco de Gregori, a famous italian songwriter who also translated "Desolation Row" with Fabrizio. The most famous songs of this album are "Amico Fragile"("Fragile Friend") and "La Cattiva Strada"("The Bad Way").
In 1977, having moved to Sardinia, the couple had a daughter, and in the following year Fabrizio De André issued a new LP, Rimini. Most songs included in this album were written with a young Veronese singer-songwriter, Massimo Bubola. There's also "Avventura a Durango" a translation of "Romance in Durango" bu Bob Dylan.
1979 began with a series of famous live concerts from which a double LP is drawn; De André was accompanied by one of the most renowned Italian progressive rock bands, Premiata Forneria Marconi. At the end of August, De André and Ghezzi were kidnapped for ransom by a gang of Sardinian bandits, and held prisoner in the inaccessible Supramonte mountains. The couple was released four months later; no ransom was paid. When the bandits were apprehended by the police, and De André was called as witness before the Court, he refused to denounce his kidnappers and declared his own solidarity with them: «They were the real prisoners, not I», he said.
This dramatic episode, and the hard life of the Sardinian people, gave him inspiration for his following album, released in 1981. The album is anonymous, but, from the image of a native American appearing on the cover, the mass-media called it L'indiano (The Indian). The album contains one of his most famous songs, Fiume Sand Creek: it relates the massacre of defenceless native Americans of 29th November 1864 by U.S. Army troops.
In 1984 Fabrizio De André turned to his native Genoese dialect and wrote, together with former PFM member Mauro Pagani, one of his most celebrated albums, Crêuza de mä("Path to the sea", the term "Crêuza" actually indicates a narrow road bordered by low walls, typical of Genoa and its surroundings). The songs were a tribute to traditional music from every Mediterranean country.The album was awarded an unending series of prizes and was greeted as "the best Italian album of the 1980s". It was named by David Byrne as one of his favourite albums. As Pagani has repeatedly stated, De Andrè wrote the lyrics for the album, while the music was almost entirely Pagani's.
In 1989 Fabrizio De André married Dori Ghezzi; the following year a new album was issued, Le nuvole ("The clouds"), which included two more songs in the Genoese dialect, one in the Gallurese dialect of Northern Sardinia (Monti di Mola), and one in the Neapolitan dialect, the highly ironic Don Raffae'. A new series of live concerts followed, from which a double LP (1991 Concerti[) was drawn. In 1992 he started a new series of live concerts.
In 1997 De André started a new tour of theatre concerts and a new song collection, called
Mi innamoravo di tutto ("I fell in love with everything") was issued. This tribute album included a version of La canzone di Marinella in duet with Mina. The Anime salve concert tour went on up to the late summer of 1998, when De André stopped at the first symptoms of a serious disease, which was later diagnosed as cancer.
He died in Milan on 11th January 1999. Two days later, he was buried in his native town, Genoa; the ceremony was attended by an immense crowd of about 20,000. Fabrizio De André rests in the monumental Staglieno cemetery, in the De André family chapel.
Bocca Di Rosa
Fabrizio De André Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Metteva l'amore, metteva l'amore
La chiamavano bocca di rosa
Metteva l'amore sopra ogni cosa
Appena scese alla stazione
Nel paesino di Sant'Ilario
Tutti si accorsero con uno sguardo
C'è chi l'amore lo fa per noia
Chi se lo sceglie per professione
Bocca di rosa né l'uno né l'altro
Lei lo faceva per passione
Ma la passione spesso conduce
A soddisfare le proprie voglie
Senza indagare se il concupito
Ha il cuore libero oppure ha moglie
E fu così che da un giorno all'altro
Bocca di rosa si tirò addosso
L'ira funesta delle cagnette
A cui aveva sottratto l'osso
Ma le comari d'un paesino
Non brillano certo in iniziativa
Le contromisure fino a quel punto
Si limitavano all'invettiva
Si sa che la gente dà buoni consigli
Sentendosi come Gesù nel tempio
Si sa che la gente dà buoni consigli
Se non può più dare cattivo esempio
Così una vecchia mai stata moglie
Senza mai figli, senza più voglie
Si prese la briga e di certo il gusto
Di dare a tutte il consiglio giusto
E rivolgendosi alle cornute
Le apostrofò con parole argute
"Il furto d'amore sarà punito"
Disse "dall'ordine costituito"
E quelle andarono dal commissario
E dissero senza parafrasare
"Quella schifosa ha già troppi clienti
Più di un consorzio alimentare"
Ed arrivarono quattro gendarmi
Con i pennacchi, con i pennacchi
Ed arrivarono quattro gendarmi
Con i pennacchi e con le armi
Spesso gli sbirri e i carabinieri
Al proprio dovere vengono meno
Ma non quando sono in alta uniforme
E l'accompagnarono al primo treno
Alla stazione c'erano tutti
Dal commissario al sacrestano
Alla stazione c'erano tutti
Con gli occhi rossi e il cappello in mano
A salutare chi per un poco
Senza pretese, senza pretese
A salutare chi per un poco
Portò l'amore nel paese
C'era un cartello giallo
Con una scritta nera
Diceva "addio bocca di rosa
Con te se ne parte la primavera"
Ma una notizia un po' originale
Non ha bisogno di alcun giornale
Come una freccia dall'arco scocca
Vola veloce di bocca in bocca
E alla stazione successiva
Molta più gente di quando partiva
Chi mandò un bacio, chi gettò un fiore
Chi si prenota per due ore
Persino il parroco che non disprezza
Fra un miserere e un'estrema unzione
Il bene effimero della bellezza
La vuole accanto in processione
E con la Vergine in prima fila
E bocca di rosa poco lontano
Si porta a spasso per il paese
L'amore sacro e l'amor profano
In Fabrizio De André's song "Bocca Di Rosa," he sings about a woman who was known as "Bocca di Rosa," or "rose-colored mouth," for her ability to spread love and passion everywhere she went. When she arrived at the train station in the small town of Sant'Ilario, everyone realized she wasn't a missionary, but rather someone who lived for love. However, her passion often led her to fulfill her desires without questioning if the desired person was free or married, which led to the anger of the town's married women. They went to the police and declared that Bocca di Rosa was a prostitute who had too many clients.
The gendarmes came to arrest her, and everyone in town came to see her go. They waved goodbye to the woman who brought love to their town, leaving a yellow sign that read "Goodbye, Bocca di Rosa, the spring leaves with you." However, her departure led to a chain reaction of people wanting to meet her, including the town's priest. They all came together to walk her through the village with both divine and profane love.
One possible interpretation of the lyrics is that they are a reflection of Italian society's traditional view of women and sexuality, with the married women in the town representing the conservative thoughts of society. Bocca di Rosa, on the other hand, represents the women who want to break free from those traditional and oppressive views.
Line by Line Meaning
La chiamavano bocca di rosa
They called her rose mouth
Metteva l'amore, metteva l'amore
She put love, she put love
La chiamavano bocca di rosa
They called her rose mouth
Metteva l'amore sopra ogni cosa
She put love above everything
Appena scese alla stazione
As soon as she got off at the station
Nel paesino di Sant'Ilario
In the small town of Sant'Ilario
Tutti si accorsero con uno sguardo
Everyone noticed with one look
Che non si trattava di un missionario
That she wasn't a missionary
C'è chi l'amore lo fa per noia
There are those who do love out of boredom
Chi se lo sceglie per professione
Who choose it as a profession
Bocca di rosa né l'uno né l'altro
Rose mouth was neither one nor the other
Lei lo faceva per passione
She did it for passion
Ma la passione spesso conduce
But passion often leads
A soddisfare le proprie voglie
To satisfy one's own desires
Senza indagare se il concupito
Without investigating whether the loved one
Ha il cuore libero oppure ha moglie
Has a free heart or a wife
E fu così che da un giorno all'altro
And so it was that from one day to the next
Bocca di rosa si tirò addosso
Rose mouth drew upon herself
L'ira funesta delle cagnette
The fatal anger of the bitches
A cui aveva sottratto l'osso
She had taken the bone from them
Ma le comari d'un paesino
But the village gossip
Non brillano certo in iniziativa
Certainly don't shine with initiative
Le contromisure fino a quel punto
Until that point, the countermeasures
Si limitavano all'invettiva
Were limited to insults
Si sa che la gente dà buoni consigli
It's known that people give good advice
Sentendosi come Gesù nel tempio
Feeling like Jesus in the temple
Si sa che la gente dà buoni consigli
It's known that people give good advice
Se non può più dare cattivo esempio
If they can't set a bad example anymore
Così una vecchia mai stata moglie
So an old woman, never married
Senza mai figli, senza più voglie
Without children and without desires
Si prese la briga e di certo il gusto
She took the effort and certainly enjoyed it
Di dare a tutte il consiglio giusto
To give everyone the right advice
E rivolgendosi alle cornute
And addressing the horny women
Le apostrofò con parole argute
She addressed them with clever words
"Il furto d'amore sarà punito"
"Love theft will be punished"
Disse "dall'ordine costituito"
Said "by the established order"
E quelle andarono dal commissario
And those women went to the commissioner
E dissero senza parafrasare
And said without paraphrasing
"Quella schifosa ha già troppi clienti
"That disgusting woman has too many clients
Più di un consorzio alimentare"
More than a food consortium
Ed arrivarono quattro gendarmi
And four policemen arrived
Con i pennacchi, con i pennacchi
With the plumes, with the plumes
Ed arrivarono quattro gendarmi
And four policemen arrived
Con i pennacchi e con le armi
With the plumes and with their weapons
Spesso gli sbirri e i carabinieri
Often the cops and the soldiers
Al proprio dovere vengono meno
Fail to fulfill their duty
Ma non quando sono in alta uniforme
But not when they're in their high uniform
E l'accompagnarono al primo treno
And they accompanied her to the first train
Alla stazione c'erano tutti
Everyone was at the station
Dal commissario al sacrestano
From the commissioner to the sacristan
Alla stazione c'erano tutti
Everyone was at the station
Con gli occhi rossi e il cappello in mano
With red eyes and their hats in hand
A salutare chi per un poco
To bid farewell to someone who for a bit
Senza pretese, senza pretese
Without expectations, without expectations
A salutare chi per un poco
To bid farewell to someone who for a bit
Portò l'amore nel paese
Brought love to the village
C'era un cartello giallo
There was a yellow sign
Con una scritta nera
With black writing
Diceva "addio bocca di rosa
It said "goodbye, rose mouth
Con te se ne parte la primavera"
"With you, spring leaves too"
Ma una notizia un po' originale
But some original news
Non ha bisogno di alcun giornale
Doesn't need any newspaper
Come una freccia dall'arco scocca
Like an arrow shot from a bow
Vola veloce di bocca in bocca
Flies quickly from mouth to mouth
E alla stazione successiva
And at the next station
Molta più gente di quando partiva
Many more people than when she left
Chi mandò un bacio, chi gettò un fiore
Some sent a kiss, some threw flowers
Chi si prenota per due ore
Some booked her for two hours
Persino il parroco che non disprezza
Even the priest who doesn't disdain
Fra un miserere e un'estrema unzione
Between a miserere and the last rites
Il bene effimero della bellezza
The ephemeral good of beauty
La vuole accanto in processione
Wants her next to him in the procession
E con la Vergine in prima fila
And with the Virgin in the front row
E bocca di rosa poco lontano
And rose mouth not far away
Si porta a spasso per il paese
They stroll through the village, the sacred love and the profane love
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Fabrizio De Andre, Gian Piero Reverberi, Roberto Ferri
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@danielevacca3064
La chiamavano bocca di rosa
Metteva l'amore, metteva l'amore
La chiamavano bocca di rosa
Metteva l'amore sopra ogni cosa
Appena scese alla stazione
Nel paesino di Sant'Ilario
Tutti si accorsero con uno sguardo
Che non si trattava di un missionario
C'è chi l'amore lo fa per noia
Chi se lo sceglie per professione
Bocca di rosa né l'uno né l'altro
Lei lo faceva per passione
Ma la passione spesso conduce
A soddisfare le proprie voglie
Senza indagare se il concupito
Ha il cuore libero oppure ha moglie
E fu così che da un giorno all'altro
Bocca di rosa si tirò addosso
L'ira funesta delle cagnette
A cui aveva sottratto l'osso
Ma le comari di un paesino
Non brillano certo in iniziativa
Le contromisure fino a quel punto
Si limitavano all'invettiva
Si sa che la gente dà buoni consigli
Sentendosi come Gesù nel tempio
Si sa che la gente dà buoni consigli
Se non può più dare cattivo esempio
Così una vecchia mai stata moglie
Senza mai figli, senza più voglie
Si prese la briga e di certo il gusto
Di dare a tutte il consiglio giusto
E rivolgendosi alle cornute
Le apostrofò con parole argute
"Il furto d'amore sarà punito"
Disse "all'ordine costituito"
E quelle andarono dal commissario
E dissero senza parafrasare
"Quella schifosa ha già troppi clienti
Più di un consorzio alimentare"
E arrivarono quattro gendarmi
Con i pennacchi con i pennacchi
E arrivarono quattro gendarmi
Con i pennacchi e con le armi
Il cuore tenero non è una dote
Di cui sian colmi i carabinieri
Ma quella volta a prendere il treno
L'accompagnarono malvolentieri
Alla stazione c'erano tutti
Dal commissario al sagrestano
Alla stazione c'erano tutti
Con gli occhi rossi e il cappello in mano
A salutare chi per un poco
Senza pretese, senza pretese
A salutare chi per un poco
Portò l'amore nel paese
C'era un cartello giallo
Con una scritta nera
Diceva "addio bocca di rosa
Con te se ne parte la primavera"
Ma una notizia un po' originale
Non ha bisogno di alcun giornale
Come una freccia dall'arco scocca
Vola veloce di bocca in bocca
E alla stazione successiva
Molta più gente di quando partiva
Chi mandò un bacio, chi gettò un fiore
Chi si prenota per due ore
Persino il parroco che non disprezza
Fra un miserere e un'estrema unzione
Il bene effimero della bellezza
La vuole accanto in processione
E con la Vergine in prima fila
E bocca di rosa poco lontano
Si porta a spasso per il paese
L'amore sacro e l'amor profano
@arseniolupin8851
chi ascolterà questa bellissima canzone nel 2021 metta un like!
@giuseppeborruto4808
@Luigi Raimondo Pomo dimentichi i tauro boys
@allevamentoailupi
Pure io l'ascolto nel giugno 2020
@laurananna2621
Pure io .....luglio 2020
@ciaociao2051
a me arriva oggi il vinile di questo magnifico concerto
@riccardovannucci6249
@Luigi Raimondo Pomo Hai dimenticato un umile ma grande Lauzi !
@benjamindominguezmercado3848
Sono Messicano, per me, vivere nel stesso mondo che ha vissuto D'Andrè e un grandìssimo onore... Grazie Italia¡¡¡¡¡
@marcobenenati9665
Faber meritava il premio Nobel per la letteratura..
@giova4052
Se fosse stato anglofono gliel'avrebbero dato sicuramente. Un vero peccato. :(
@tommasobiagini3937
Peccato che questo sia de Andrè