As recalled by a verse of one of his songs, "it was the fate that in three … Read Full Bio ↴As recalled by a verse of one of his songs, "it was the fate that in three months" moved his family out of Modena because of war. Guccini spent his childhood and part of his youth at his grandparents' place in a small village in the Apennine Mountains called Pàvana, a fraction of the commune Sambuca Pistoiese in the province of Pistoia (Toscana). The memory of the youth years spent in the somewhat archaic society of the mountains of central Italy was to be always present in his songs and books.

He then moved back to his family in Modena and attended the local "istituto magistrale". He worked for a couple otf years as a reporter for a local newspaper Gazzetta di Modena. In 1960 the Guccinis moved to Bologna where Francesco studied at the local university. From 1965 to 1985 he held italian courses at the Dickinson College (an American school) in Bologna.

He played in local bands such as The Hurricanes and Gatti and achieved success in the 1960s writing songs for a legendary Italian band, Nomadi, also from Modena. Some of these successes include "Noi non ci saremo" and "Dio è morto". In the 1970s, Nomadi recorded two albums of Guccini's songs as well as a live album, Album Concerto, featuring him. Guccini's debut album was Folkbeat, No. 1 (1967).

Guccini always declared his first two works, Folk Beat n.1 and Due anni dopo, being merely tentatives, a nature probably noticeable in the quite essential musical arrangements. The latter, however, contained classics like the title-track and "La primavera di Praga" ("Prague Spring"). His first mature album is therefore L'Isola Non Trovata ("The Not Found Island") of 1970, which shows many the themes which were to be present in the future releases: a certain melancholy for a perceived nearness of death, as well as the portrait of outcasts figures like "Il frate" ("The Friar").

Radici ("Roots", 1972), is one of Guccini's finest works, and contains some of his most famous songs. These include: the title-track, a nostalgic declaration of love for Guccini's youth spent in the Appennine mountains; "La locomotiva", a long ballad about the solitary, unlucky revolt of a Bolognese railwayman during the 19th century; "Il vecchio e il bambino", a melancholic story about the dreams of an old man, and the different way in which they are perceived by the boy accompanying him; "Piccola città" ("Small City"), about Guccini's early years in the Emilia-Romagna provincial world.

Stanze di vita quotidiana ("Stanzas of Everyday Life") of 1974 deals with more private themes, sometimes with nearly desperate accents. The album contains at least one masterwork, the yearning "Canzone delle osterie di fuori porta".

In 1976 Guccini scored his greatest commercial success with the album Via Paolo Fabbri 43. The title is his residence street in Bologna. He declared this choice was an error, because many of his fans made true pilgrimages there to meet and talk with him. The album features the famous "L'avvelenata", a catchy ballad in which Guccini unleashes his rage against musics critics and people perceiving in a distorted way his career ans popularity as singer-songwriter.

Amerigo (1978), whose title-track is about the story of the emigration of Guccini's Pavanese uncle to the United States, Metropolis (1981), and Guccini (1983), showed that the Bolognese singer's inspiration was left untouched by the general switch to the more commercial themes that characterized the Italian musical world starting from the end of 1970s.

The 1984 live tournée was highly successful, and was soon collected in a double live LP, Fra la Via Emilia e il West ("Between the Via Aemilia and the West"). Emilia Romagna and the Old West symbolize well the double ties of Guccini to his native land and to America. Guccini declared to have knwown the latter soon in his life, through the comics and magazines imported by US soldiers during World War 2, but also through his uncle's tales. After the war, like many Italians of the period, he was of course influenced by American songs and Hollywood movies, and finally managed to touch with hand this kind of myth during his personal voyages to US (including a love story with an American girl).

Last album of 1980s was Signora Bovary (1987), containing notable pieces like "Scirocco". After several interlocutory albums in the 1990s, Guccini returned at his best with Stagioni ("Seasons") of 2000: the title-track is an effective, merciless accusation against media invadence and moral corruption of Italy.

Guccini's last studio release is Ritratti of 2004.

Il testamento di un pagliaccio
Francesco Guccini Lyrics

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Cari amici ascoltatelo un momento
Sta per morire e così l'ha finita
La pagliacciata che chiamava vita
Sta per morire, e ha fatto testamento

Cristalli di pensiero, ali di vento
Ululeranno cupi questa sera
Salmodieranno monaci in preghiera

Perché si in pace lui muore contento

Di cosa muore? Muore intossicato
Da sogni vani di democrazia
Rifiuta i compromessi alla bugia
Muor contento? No, da disperato
Ma cosa importa, è giunto fino in fondo
Alla sua saga triste e divertente
A una vita ridicola e insipiente
Lui muore, infine, e noi restiamo al mondo

Vi vuole tutti, amici, al funerale
Con gli abiti migliori come a festa
Sarà civile, ma ci vuole in testa
Sei politici servi e un cardinale
Vaniloqui ed incenso siano attorno
Promesse non risolte, altri rumori
Non risparmiate amici peccatori
Qualche laica bestemmia per contorno
Poi ci vorrebbe qua, mi consenta
Uno stilista mago del sublime
Un vip con la troietta di regime
E chi si svende per denari trenta
Un onesto mafioso riciclato
Un duro, puro e cuore di nostalgico
Travestito da quasi democratico
E che si sente padrone dello Stato

E per chiusura del mesto corteo
Noi tutti fingeremo un'orazione
Ricordando quel povero coglione
Cantando in gregoriano "marameo"

Poi morto, sia sepolto, e con le mani
Si sparga attentamente sul defunto
Quello che l'ha ridotto, qua a questo punto
Le utopie, i sogni, i desideri vani
Risate di disprezzo, tutti i pianti
Momenti di dolore, gioia, d'ira
Accatastati, sia fatta una pira
E si appiccichi il fuoco a tutti quanti

Chiudete allora i cancelli e le porte
Che sgorgano un fumo tossico e letale
Che ad ogni ingenuo, come lui, fa male
Come per lui, può condurre alla morte
A noi non resterà che andare via
E sciogliendoci da quel mortale abbraccio

Ricorderemo forse quel pagliaccio
E la sua lotta ingenua e così sia

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Il testamento di un pagliaccio" by Francesco Guccini depict the final moments and testament of a clown who is about to die. The song criticizes the clown's life, referring to it as a mockery called "vita" (life), and highlights his disillusionment and despair. The clown is portrayed as dying from the intoxication of vain dreams of democracy, refusing to compromise with lies. Although he dies in despair, the clown finds contentment in reaching the end of his tragic and entertaining saga, leaving the rest of the world behind.

The lyrics address the funeral arrangements, calling for all friends to attend, dressed in their finest attire as if it were a celebration. The clown requests the presence of six servile politicians and a cardinal, mocking the hypocrisy and corruption of power. The song further satirizes society by suggesting the need for a sublime fashion designer, a VIP with a regime mistress, and those who sell themselves for money. It also mentions a recycled honest mobster disguised as a quasi-democrat who feels like the master of the state.

As the funeral procession comes to a close, everyone pretends to say a prayer, remembering the poor fool and singing in Gregorian chant. The song concludes by suggesting that all the clown's utopias, dreams, and vain desires should be cremated, accompanied by moments of contemptuous laughter, tears, pain, and anger. The toxic smoke that emanates from this burning should serve as a warning to all innocent souls, like the clown, that it can lead to death. In the end, the singer advises to close the gates and leave, reflecting on the clown's naive and futile struggle.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Francesco Guccini

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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