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.
In Morte Di S.F.
Francesco Guccini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
la dolce estate era già cominciata vicino lui sorrideva, vicino lui sorrideva...
Forte la mano teneva il volante, forte il motore cantava,
non lo sapevi che c'era la morte quel giorno che ti aspettava, quel giorno che ti aspettava...
Non lo sapevi che c'era la morte, quando si è giovani è strano
poter pensare che la nostra sorte venga e ci prenda per mano, venga e ci prenda per mano...
Non lo sapevi, ma cosa hai sentito quando la strada è impazzita,
quando la macchina è uscita di lato e sopra un'altra è finita, e sopra un'altra è finita...
Non lo sapevi, ma cosa hai pensato quando lo schianto ti ha uccisa,
quando anche il cielo di sopra è crollato, quando la vita è fuggita, quando la vita è fuggita...
Dopo il silenzio soltanto è regnato tra le lamiere contorte:
sull'autostrada cercavi la vita, ma ti ha incontrato la morte, ma ti ha incontrato la morte...
Vorrei sapere a che cosa è servito vivere, amare, soffrire,
spendere tutti i tuoi giorni passati se così presto hai dovuto partire, se presto hai dovuto partire...
Voglio però ricordarti com'eri, pensare che ancora vivi,
voglio pensare che ancora mi ascolti e che come allora sorridi e che come allora sorridi...
The lyrics of Francesco Guccini’s song “In Morte di S.F.” talk about death and the fleeting nature of life. The singer drives on a straight and fast road during a sunny day. He holds the steering wheel tight and enjoys the powerful sound of the engine. He is not aware that death is waiting for him that day, lurking somewhere in the future. The singer wonders how strange it is that when we are young, we cannot imagine that death can come and take us away so easily.
The singer then reflects on the moment of the accident. He has no idea that this would be his last day on earth. He thinks of the moment when the car went sideways and crashed into another car. He thinks of the moment when he lost his life, and the sky above him fell. After that, there was only silence, and death prevailed among the deformed car frames. The singer is left wondering what it all meant- loving, living, and suffering.
The song carries a deep and powerful message about the fragility of life and the inevitability of death. It speaks to the human condition of not knowing when our time is up and encourages us to live our lives to the fullest. The singer's experience is an example of how life can sometimes be unpredictable, and we don't know what lies ahead.
Line by Line Meaning
Lunga e diritta correva la strada, l'auto veloce correva
The straight road was long and the car was moving fast.
la dolce estate era già cominciata vicino lui sorrideva, vicino lui sorrideva...
The sweet summer had already begun and he was smiling next to him.
Forte la mano teneva il volante, forte il motore cantava,
He held the steering wheel strongly as the engine sang.
non lo sapevi che c'era la morte quel giorno che ti aspettava, quel giorno che ti aspettava...
You didn't know that death was waiting for you that day.
Non lo sapevi che c'era la morte, quando si è giovani è strano poter pensare che la nostra sorte venga e ci prenda per mano, venga e ci prenda per mano...
It's strange to think that fate can take us by the hand when we're young and we don't know that death is always near.
Non lo sapevi, ma cosa hai sentito quando la strada è impazzita, quando la macchina è uscita di lato e sopra un'altra è finita, e sopra un'altra è finita...
You didn't know what you felt when the road went wild, and the car went sideways and landed on another one.
Non lo sapevi, ma cosa hai pensato quando lo schianto ti ha uccisa, quando anche il cielo di sopra è crollato, quando la vita è fuggita, quando la vita è fuggita...
You didn't know what you thought when the crash killed you, when even the sky collapsed and when life was gone.
Dopo il silenzio soltanto è regnato tra le lamiere contorte: sull'autostrada cercavi la vita, ma ti ha incontrato la morte, ma ti ha incontrato la morte...
After the silence, chaos reigned among the twisted metal. You were looking for life on the highway, but death met you first.
Vorrei sapere a che cosa è servito vivere, amare, soffrire, spendere tutti i tuoi giorni passati se così presto hai dovuto partire, se presto hai dovuto partire...
I would like to know what was the point of living, loving, suffering, and spending all your past days if you had to leave so soon.
Voglio però ricordarti com'eri, pensare che ancora vivi, voglio pensare che ancora mi ascolti e che come allora sorridi e che come allora sorridi...
However, I want to remember you as you were, think that you are still alive, and want to think that you are still listening to me and you smile like you used to.
Contributed by Bentley D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
scacchi granata
bellissima canzone.......... dedicata a Stefania......mia carissima amica morta 2 sere fa in un incidente stradale....non dovevi morire....non si puo morire a 19 anni ti voglio bene grazie guccini....
Enrico Santin
NON SI PUÒ MORIRE A SOLI 20 ANNI, LA MOTO COMPRATA CON I PRIMI RISPARMI E POI QUEL MALEDETTO INCROCIO CHE TI HA PORTATO VIA...CHE QUESTA MELODIA TI POSSA ARRIVARE OVUNQUE TU SIA TI VORRÒ SEMPRE BENE...
Massimo De Marchi
guccini sa dare parole ad ogni cosa
Silvia Ottavia De Guidi
Unico e solo! Un'infanzia intera, la mia, in questa canzone! Grazie papà!
Enzo Dn
Cit. "Il brano In morte di S.F., fu poi ridepositato dopo l'iscrizione di Guccini alla SIAE, con il testo a suo nome (la musica rimase intestata a Deponti), con delle lievi modifiche, ma soprattutto col titolo cambiato (per consentirne il rideposito) in Canzone per un'amica. L'ANAS, infatti, fece pressioni per evitare una cattiva pubblicità in tema di sicurezza stradale, riuscendo a farle cambiare il titolo e a censurarla."
Da Wikipedia, l'enciclopedia libera.
Assurdo. L'ANAS!????!!!????
Teo Scarfuse
la ascolto sempre e sempre mi commuovo
Giorgio Vogliolo
Pure io difficile non commuoversi
roberta gianferro
Ad Annamaria e alla sua famiglia. Alla sua piccola e a suo marito. La sorte li ha presi per mano...
Federica Liberati
Giorgiana Masi... dopo 40 anni vogliamo ricordarti com'eri, pensare che ancora vivi... voglio pensare che ancora mi ascolti e che come allora sorridi....
Gianni Riotta
amen
io c'ero