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.
Le Cinque Anatre
Francesco Guccini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
molto prima del tempo l'inverno è arrivato.
Cinque anatre in volo vedrai
contro il sole velato, contro il sole velato...
Nessun rumore sulla taiga,
solo un lampo un istante ed un morso crudele:
quattro anatre in volo vedrai
Quattro anatre volano a sud:
quanto dista la terra che le nutriva,
quanto la terra che le nutrirà
e l'inverno già arriva e l'inverno già arriva...
Il giorno sembra non finire mai;
bianca fischia ed acceca nel vento la neve:
solo tre anatre in volo vedrai
e con un volo ormai greve e con un volo ormai greve...
A cosa pensan nessuno lo saprà:
nulla pensan l'inverno e la grande pianura
e a nulla il gelo che il suolo spaccherà
con un gridare che dura, con un gridare che dura...
E il branco vola, vola verso sud.
Nulla esiste più attorno se non sonno e fame:
solo due anatre in volo vedrai
verso il sud che ora appare, verso il sud che ora appare...
Cinque anatre andavano a sud:
forse una soltanto vedremo arrivare,
ma quel suo volo certo vuole dire
che bisognava volare, che bisognava volare,
che bisognava volare, che bisognava volare...
Francesco Guccini's song "Le Cinque Anatre" tells the story of five ducks flying south for the winter. The opening verse describes the ducks taking flight and heading southwards, as winter arrived earlier than expected. The second verse describes the harsh reality of life in the wild, as one duck falls prey to a predator while the other four continue their journey southwards. In the third verse, the author highlights the uncertainty of life in the wild, as the ducks wonder how far they are from their next food source and the land that will provide them with shelter for the winter. The fourth verse describes the harsh conditions that the ducks must endure, as they struggle against the elements and the snow. The fifth verse highlights the ducks' lack of thought and emotions, concentrating on their need to survive. Finally, the last verse suggests that only one of the five ducks will complete the journey southwards, but its achievement symbolizes the determination and need to survive that all the ducks possessed.
"Le Cinque Anatre" is a richly metaphoric song in which Guccini uses the journey of the ducks as a metaphor for the path of human life. The journey of the ducks, through the unforgiving landscape, highlights the human need for perseverance and determination to survive. The harsh winter conditions symbolize the challenging times that we all must face in life. The ducks' journey southward represents the human quest for a better life, while the ducks' perseverance represents the human desire to overcome adversity and succeed despite the odds.
Line by Line Meaning
Cinque anatre volano a sud:
Five ducks are flying south:
molto prima del tempo l'inverno è arrivato.
Winter has arrived much earlier than usual.
Cinque anatre in volo vedrai
You will see five ducks in flight
contro il sole velato, contro il sole velato...
Against the veiled sun, against the veiled sun...
Nessun rumore sulla taiga,
No sound in the taiga,
solo un lampo un istante ed un morso crudele:
Only a flash for a moment and a cruel bite:
quattro anatre in volo vedrai
You will see four ducks in flight
ed una preda cadere ed una preda cadere...
And a prey falling, and a prey falling...
Quattro anatre volano a sud:
Four ducks are flying south:
quanto dista la terra che le nutriva,
How far is the land that used to feed them,
quanto la terra che le nutrirà
How far is the land that will feed them
e l'inverno già arriva e l'inverno già arriva...
And winter is already arriving, and winter is already arriving...
Il giorno sembra non finire mai;
The day seems to never end;
bianca fischia ed acceca nel vento la neve:
The white snow whistles and blinds in the wind:
solo tre anatre in volo vedrai
You will see only three ducks in flight
e con un volo ormai greve e con un volo ormai greve...
And with a now heavy flight, and with a now heavy flight...
A cosa pensan nessuno lo saprà:
No one knows what they are thinking:
nulla pensan l'inverno e la grande pianura
Winter and the great plain think of nothing
e a nulla il gelo che il suolo spaccherà
And the frost that will crack the ground thinks of nothing
con un gridare che dura, con un gridare che dura...
With a screaming that lasts, with a screaming that lasts...
E il branco vola, vola verso sud.
And the flock flies, flies south.
Nulla esiste più attorno se non sonno e fame:
Nothing else exists around except for sleep and hunger:
solo due anatre in volo vedrai
You will only see two ducks in flight
verso il sud che ora appare, verso il sud che ora appare...
Towards the south that now appears, towards the south that now appears...
Cinque anatre andavano a sud:
Five ducks were going south:
forse una soltanto vedremo arrivare,
Maybe only one we will see arriving,
ma quel suo volo certo vuole dire
But that certain flight of hers means
che bisognava volare, che bisognava volare,
That they needed to fly, they needed to fly,
che bisognava volare, che bisognava volare...
That they needed to fly, they needed to fly...
Contributed by Andrew V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@servitrad
Questa canzone è del 1978. Era un periodo molto difficile, con una crisi economica veramente pesante, tra disoccupazione e inflazione galoppante. C'era molta delinquenza e violenza politica. Questa canzone era un messaggio di speranza, l'idea che lottando potevamo uscire dalla situazione che stavamo vivendo. Mi piaceva molto allora e continua a piacermi adesso.
@tonyllu
Vero. Speriamo di rimetterci in piedi anche ora come allora anche se sarà più difficile. In quegli anni non c'era la globalizzazione
@giovannibasta9443
Se non è poesia questa? Francesco la mia giovinezza
@mauropaterlini9921
la prima canzone che ho sentito,avevo 18anni,amai subito questo grandissimo artista
@khorakhane4789
Cinque anatre andavano a sud: forse una soltanto vedremo arrivare,
ma quel suo volo certo vuole dire che bisognava volare.
@francescovalente7029
Quanti ideali giovanili svaniti.....
@sank2423
Un poetà.
@libbanoultras6986
questa canzone mi dà una grinta di lottare fino alla fine...anche se sommerso dai debiti non riesco ad arrivare a fine mese...ascoltandola con un po di valpolicella ti senti più forte grazie MAESTRO
@antisisa
Forza e coraggio compagno. Speriamo in tempi migliori, godiamoci le persone care e cerchiamo di afferrare sempre i bei momenti.
@libbanoultras6986
@@antisisa grazie fratello caro....che si doveva VOLAREEEEE CHE SI DOVEVA VOLAREEEEE...