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.
Luna Fortuna
Francesco Guccini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Notte calda come tante vicino al fiume che canta
aria piena del barlume di un lume fioco in distanza
e di lucciole sfuggenti di cui la notte si ammanta.
E si ammanta di fantasmi, o di un ricordo lontano
mentre al buio della notte che mi trascina per mano
cerco i segni delle piante che mi circondano piano.
Piano, all'ombra della notte, mi sembri fatta di fumo,
con l'odore del tuo corpo e in questo io mi consumo.
Ma dal monte all'improvviso spunta la bianca luna
e ogni cosa in un istante schiarisce e non è più bruna;
questa luna esagerata ci procurerà fortuna.
La fortuna di un amante è un fiore d'esile stelo
una favola inquietante, fugace e fragile velo,
il respiro di un istante che scomparirà nel cielo.
Cielo e luce all'infinito come se fosse di giorno
mondo magico e fiorito che mi risplende d'intorno
io ti sfoglio con le dita e indovino il tuo contorno.
Il contorno del tuo corpo ora si è fatto reale
è qualcosa bianco e vero, bello da far quasi male
e si insinua in un pensiero che all'improvviso mi assale:
contro il cielo trasformato sorride un'altra luna
ma io so qual è la vera, l'altra non è più nessuna,
questa nuova luna piena mi procurerà fortuna.
The song "Luna Fortuna" by Francesco Guccini tells the story of a hot summer night by the river, full of mystery and magic. The singer describes the atmosphere of the night, filled with the glow of a distant light and the fleeting sparkle of fireflies. As he wanders in the darkness, he searches for the signs of the surrounding plants, feeling as if everything around him is hazy, made of smoke.
Suddenly, a white moon rises from the mountain, and everything becomes clear and bright. The singer believes that this exaggerated moon will bring him fortune as a lover. However, he also acknowledges that love's fortune is an elusive flower, a fragile veil, and a fleeting breath that will disappear into the sky. The singer then describes the world around him turning magical and flowery, and he imagines tracing the contours of his lover's body. But as he does, a new thought takes hold of him: there is another moon in the sky that seems to smile at him, but he knows that it is not the real one. The true moon, the one that will bring him fortune, is the one shining on him now.
Overall, "Luna Fortuna" is a poetic meditation on love and the fleeting nature of fortune, but also a celebration of nature's magic and beauty. It conveys a sense of longing, wonder, and mystery, and invites the listener to immerse themselves in the spellbinding atmosphere of a summer night.
Line by Line Meaning
Notte calda come tante vicino al fiume che canta
The night is warm and familiar, next to the singing river
aria piena del barlume di un lume fioco in distanza
The air is filled with the dim light of a distant lamp
e di lucciole sfuggenti di cui la notte si ammanta.
And with the elusive fireflies that give the night its charm
E si ammanta di fantasmi, o di un ricordo lontano
The night is also shrouded in ghosts, or distant memories
mentre al buio della notte che mi trascina per mano
As the darkness of the night pulls me along
cerco i segni delle piante che mi circondano piano.
I search for the signs of the plants that surround me softly.
Piano, all'ombra della notte, mi sembri fatta di fumo,
Softly, in the shadow of the night, you seem made of smoke
sento appena il tuo calore ed il tuo strano profumo
I barely feel your warmth and your strange scent
con l'odore del tuo corpo e in questo io mi consumo.
With the smell of your body, and in this I am consumed.
Ma dal monte all'improvviso spunta la bianca luna
But suddenly the white moon appears from the mountain
e ogni cosa in un istante schiarisce e non è più bruna;
And in an instant, everything brightens and is no longer brown;
questa luna esagerata ci procurerà fortuna.
This exaggerated moon will bring us fortune.
La fortuna di un amante è un fiore d'esile stelo
The fortune of a lover is a fragile flower
una favola inquietante, fugace e fragile velo,
A disturbing fairytale, a fleeting and fragile veil,
il respiro di un istante che scomparirà nel cielo.
The breath of a moment that will disappear into the sky.
Cielo e luce all'infinito come se fosse di giorno
Sky and light infinite as if it were daytime
mondo magico e fiorito che mi risplende d'intorno
A magical and flowery world that shines around me
io ti sfoglio con le dita e indovino il tuo contorno.
I trace your shape with my fingers and guess your outline.
Il contorno del tuo corpo ora si è fatto reale
The outline of your body now becomes real
è qualcosa bianco e vero, bello da far quasi male
It's something white and true, beautiful enough to hurt
e si insinua in un pensiero che all'improvviso mi assale:
And it creeps into a thought that suddenly assails me:
contro il cielo trasformato sorride un'altra luna
Against the transformed sky, another moon smiles
ma io so qual è la vera, l'altra non è più nessuna,
But I know which one is the true one, the other is no more
questa nuova luna piena mi procurerà fortuna.
This new full moon will bring me luck.
Contributed by Asher I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.