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.
Quel giorno d'Aprile
Francesco Guccini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ed il gallo passeggia impettito dentro il nostro cortile
Se la guerra è finita perché ti si annebbia di pianto
Questo giorno di aprile
Ma il paese è in festa e saluta i soldati tornati
Mentre mandrie di nuvole pigre dormono sul campanile
Ed ognuno ritorna alla vita come i fiori nei prati
Come il vento di aprile
E che sogni ogni notte stringendo la sua lettera breve
Le cicogne sospese nell'aria, il suo viso bagnato di neve
E l'Italia cantando ormai libera allaga le strade
Sventolando nel cielo bandiere impazzite di luce
E tua madre prendendoti in braccio, piangendo sorride
Mentre attorno qualcuno una storia o una vita ricuce
E chissà se hai addosso un cappotto o se dormi in un caldo fienile
Sotto il glicine tuo padre lo aspetti
Con il sole d'aprile
È domenica e in bici con lui hai più anni e respiri l'odore
Delle sue sigarette e del fiume che morde il pontile
Si dipinge d'azzurro o di fumo ogni vago timore
In un giorno di aprile
Ma nei suoi sogni continua la guerra e lui scivola ancora
Sull'immensa pianura e rivede in quell'attimo breve
Le cicogne sospese nell'aria, i compagni coperti di neve
E l'Italia è una donna che balla sui tetti di Roma
Nell'amara dolcezza dei film dove cantan la vita
Ed un papa si affaccia e accarezza i bambini e la luna
Mentre l'anima dorme davanti a una scatola vuota
Suona ancora per tutti campana e non stai su nessun campanile
Perché dentro di noi troppo in fretta ci allontana
Quel giorno di aprile
The song "Quel giorno d'Aprile" by Francesco Guccini tells the story of a day in April, potentially during or near the end of a war. The lyrics evoke a sense of contrast and ambivalence, as represented by different elements in the song. The cannons, a symbol of war, stand darkly against the cobalt sky, while a proud rooster struts in the courtyard, seemingly unaware or unaffected by the end of the war. The singer wonders why there is sadness and tears if the war is over. However, despite this confusion, the town is celebrating and welcoming the returning soldiers, and life is slowly returning to normal. The image of lazy clouds sleeping on the church steeple suggests a peaceful atmosphere. People are going back to their daily lives, just like flowers blooming in the fields and the gentle April wind blowing.
The song also mentions Russia, portraying it as a dreamlike, white fairy tale that the singer knows by heart and dreams about every night. The image of suspended storks and a snowy face symbolizes longing and nostalgia for a distant place. Meanwhile, Italy is depicted as a liberated country, with flags waving wildly in the sky and people singing joyfully in the streets. The mother holds her child, crying tears of happiness, while people around mend stories and lives. The mention of a warm barn or cozy hayfield suggests a sense of comfort and domesticity. The song finishes by reflecting on the fleeting nature of time and how it separates us from significant moments. The father waits under the wisteria, a symbol of patience and hope, as the child grows older and experiences life's smells and sensations, such as the aroma of his cigarettes and the scent of the river. But in the father's dreams, the war continues, and he slides back into the vast plain, reliving memories of suspended storks, comrades covered in snow, and the pain of loss. Italy is personified as a dancing woman on the rooftops of Rome, portrayed in bittersweet films that sing of life. A pope appears in the scene, tenderly embracing children while the moon watches over. Meanwhile, the soul slumbers in front of an empty box, suggesting a sense of emptiness or disconnection. The song ends by remarking that the bells continue to ring, but the singer feels estranged, as the April day is left behind and time marches relentlessly forward.
Line by Line Meaning
Il cannone è una sagoma nera contro il cielo cobalto
The cannon is a black shape against the cobalt sky
Ed il gallo passeggia impettito dentro il nostro cortile
And the rooster struts around our courtyard
Se la guerra è finita perché ti si annebbia di pianto
If the war is over, why do tears cloud your eyes
Questo giorno di aprile
This April day
Ma il paese è in festa e saluta i soldati tornati
But the country is in celebration, welcoming the returning soldiers
Mentre mandrie di nuvole pigre dormono sul campanile
While lazy herds of clouds sleep on the bell tower
Ed ognuno ritorna alla vita come i fiori nei prati
And everyone returns to life like flowers in the meadows
Come il vento di aprile
Like the April wind
E la Russia è una favola bianca che conosci a memoria
And Russia is a white fairytale that you know by heart
E che sogni ogni notte stringendo la sua lettera breve
And that you dream of every night, holding its short letter
Le cicogne sospese nell'aria, il suo viso bagnato di neve
The storks suspended in the air, with their faces wet with snow
E l'Italia cantando ormai libera allaga le strade
And Italy, now singing freely, floods the streets
Sventolando nel cielo bandiere impazzite di luce
Waving flags of crazy light in the sky
E tua madre prendendoti in braccio, piangendo sorride
And your mother, holding you in her arms, smiles with tears
Mentre attorno qualcuno una storia o una vita ricuce
While someone around stitches up a story or a life
E chissà se hai addosso un cappotto o se dormi in un caldo fienile
And who knows if you're wearing a coat or sleeping in a warm barn
Sotto il glicine tuo padre lo aspetti
Under the wisteria, your father waits for you
Con il sole d'aprile
With the April sun
È domenica e in bici con lui hai più anni e respiri l'odore
It's Sunday and on the bike with him, you feel older and breathe in the scent
Delle sue sigarette e del fiume che morde il pontile
Of his cigarettes and the river that bites the pier
Si dipinge d'azzurro o di fumo ogni vago timore
Every vague fear is painted with blue or smoke
In un giorno di aprile
On an April day
Ma nei suoi sogni continua la guerra e lui scivola ancora
But in his dreams, the war continues and he slips again
Sull'immensa pianura e rivede in quell'attimo breve
On the immense plain, he sees again in that brief moment
Le cicogne sospese nell'aria, i compagni coperti di neve
The storks suspended in the air, his comrades covered in snow
E l'Italia è una donna che balla sui tetti di Roma
And Italy is a woman dancing on the roofs of Rome
Nell'amara dolcezza dei film dove cantan la vita
In the bitter sweetness of movies where they sing about life
Ed un papa si affaccia e accarezza i bambini e la luna
And a pope appears and caresses the children and the moon
Mentre l'anima dorme davanti a una scatola vuota
While the soul sleeps in front of an empty box
Suona ancora per tutti campana e non stai su nessun campanile
The bell still rings for everyone, and you are not on any bell tower
Perché dentro di noi troppo in fretta ci allontana
Because inside us, it quickly distances us
Quel giorno di aprile
That April day
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Giuseppe Dati, Marco Fontana, Francesco Guccini
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Antonella
🌸🌸🌸 La canzone per la RESISTENZA, più bella di sempre ! 🌹🌹🌹
GRANDISSIMO, FRANCESCO GUCCINI !!!
🇮🇹 🌞🌞🌞 🇮🇹
Mauro Pancia
Mai come ora un testo cosi dovrebbe risvegliare la coscenza popolare .Grazie Francesco per aver trasformato in musica e poesia la nostra storia.
daveinrome
Un grazie enorme ed eterno alle ragazze ed ai ragazzi che coi loro fazzoletti di tanti colori ci hanno donato la libertà.
Davide 99
Uno dei più grandi cantanti e artisti che abbiamo mai avuto in Italia. Altro che quella specie di nuova generazione di cantanti usciti dai talent. Questa è poesia pura!
Riccardo Benvenuti
Concordo,oggi musica terribile.
Lorenzo Micheli
Immenso Guccini, la poesia non conosce tempo! La poesia ferma il tempo.
Gianni Renda
Ogni volta che l'ascolto mi commuovo. Ogni volta ! Grazie !
Von Voss
Viva la Resistenza! Buon 25 Aprile 2018!
Perché il ricordo rimanga vivido nella nostra memoria e che venga ricordato dalle nuove generazioni Ⓐ⚑
alessio reggi
immenso Francesco, per fortuna l'ho potuto conoscere e vedere nei concerti, artista immenso nella sua semplicità
Pasquale Ciriolo
E' domenica 4 agosto, tempo di vacanza, a Castro e ovunque.
Eppure, ad ascoltare questa canzone mi vien da piangere, a pugno chiuso.
Grazie a chi ci ha permesso di essere un popolo libero e degno.
W il 25 aprile.