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.
Quello Che Non...
Francesco Guccini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
La senti una strana stagione
Ma a notte la nebbia ti dice d'un fiato
Che il dio dell' inverno è arrivato
Lo senti un aereo che porta lontano
Lo senti quel suono di un piano
Di un Mozart stonato che prova e riprova
Lo senti il perchè di cortili bagnati
Di auto a morire nei prati
La pallida linea di vecchie ferite
Di lettere ormai non spedite
Lo vedi il rumore di favole spente
Lo sai che non siamo più niente
Non siamo un aereo né un piano stonato
Stagione, cortile od un prato
Conosci l'odore di strade deserte
Che portano a vecchie scoperte
E a nafta, telai, ciminiere corrose
A periferie misteriose
E a rotaie implacabili per nessun dove
A letti, a brandine, ad alcove
E lo sai che colore han le nuvole basse
E i sedili di un' ex terza classe
L'angoscia che dà una pianura infinita
Hai voglia di me e della vita
Di un giorno qualunque, di una sponda brulla
Lo sai che non siamo più nulla
Non siamo una strada né malinconia
Un treno o una periferia
Non siamo scoperta né sponda sfiorita
Non siamo né un giorno né vita
Non siamo la polvere di un angolo tetro
Né un sasso tirato in un vetro
Lo schiocco del sole in un campo di grano
Non siamo, non siamo, non siamo
Si fa a strisce il cielo e quell'alta pressione
È un film di seconda visione
È l'urlo di sempre che dice pian piano
Non siamo, non siamo, non siamo
In this song, Francesco Guccini presents a bleak and melancholic portrait of modern society. He talks about the different sounds and images that suggest the arrival of winter and the consequent feeling of emptiness and despair. The high-pressure system in the sky symbolizes the oppressive nature of society, while the fog at night signifies the feeling of suffocation and helplessness. He talks about the noise of planes taking off, pianos playing out of tune, and the sound of letters that are never sent - all of which represent the disconnection and alienation that characterize our society. He describes the smell of deserted streets, the sight of corroded factories, and the feeling of hopelessness that comes from the realization that we are nothing more than dust in a bleak and indifferent world.
Overall, the song seems to suggest that there is a sense of loss and disorientation in the modern world. Guccini uses a series of vivid and evocative images to paint a picture of a society that has lost its way, and he seems to be suggesting that we need to find a way to reconnect with one another and with the natural world if we are to overcome our sense of despair and emptiness.
Line by Line Meaning
La vedi nel cielo quell' alta pressione
You can see in the sky that high pressure
La senti una strana stagione
You feel a strange season
Ma a notte la nebbia ti dice d'un fiato
But at night the fog tells you in one breath
Che il dio dell' inverno è arrivato
That the God of winter has arrived
Lo senti un aereo che porta lontano
You feel an airplane taking you far away
Lo senti quel suono di un piano
You hear the sound of a piano
Di un Mozart stonato che prova e riprova
Of a Mozart off-key trying and trying again
Ma il senso del vero non trova
But it can't find the sense of the truth
Lo senti il perchè di cortili bagnati
You feel the reason behind wet yards
Di auto a morire nei prati
Of cars dying in the meadows
La pallida linea di vecchie ferite
The pale line of old wounds
Di lettere ormai non spedite
Of letters that will never be sent
Lo vedi il rumore di favole spente
You see the sound of dead fairy tales
Lo sai che non siamo più niente
You know we're nothing anymore
Non siamo un aereo né un piano stonato
We're not an airplane nor a piano off-key
Stagione, cortile od un prato
Season, yard, or a meadow
Conosci l'odore di strade deserte
You know the smell of deserted streets
Che portano a vecchie scoperte
That lead to old discoveries
E a nafta, telai, ciminiere corrose
And to gasoline, frames, corroded chimneys
A periferie misteriose
To mysterious suburbs
E a rotaie implacabili per nessun dove
And to implacable rails leading nowhere
A letti, a brandine, ad alcove
To beds, cots, and alcoves
E lo sai che colore han le nuvole basse
And you know what color low clouds have
E i sedili di un' ex terza classe
And the seats of a former third-class
L'angoscia che dà una pianura infinita
The anguish given by an infinite plain
Hai voglia di me e della vita
You long for me and for life
Di un giorno qualunque, di una sponda brulla
For an ordinary day, for a bleak coast
Lo sai che non siamo più nulla
You know we're nothing anymore
Non siamo una strada né malinconia
We're not a road nor melancholy
Un treno o una periferia
Not a train nor a suburb
Non siamo scoperta né sponda sfiorita
We're not a discovery nor a touched shore
Non siamo né un giorno né vita
We're neither a day nor a life
Non siamo la polvere di un angolo tetro
We're not the dust of a gloomy corner
Né un sasso tirato in un vetro
Nor a rock thrown at a glass
Lo schiocco del sole in un campo di grano
The crack of the sun in a wheat field
Non siamo, non siamo, non siamo
We're not, we're not, we're not
Si fa a strisce il cielo e quell'alta pressione
The sky is striped and that high pressure
È un film di seconda visione
Is a second-viewing movie
È l'urlo di sempre che dice pian piano
It's the same cry that says, little by little
Non siamo, non siamo, non siamo
We're not, we're not, we're not
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Francesco Guccini
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
franco neri
Canzone meravigliosa che mi tocca corde emotive profonde,,, ogni volta che la ascolto mi sento inondato da gioia e commozione
Enrico Moretti
Sono anni che mi emozione nel sentire suonare o cantare questa poesia. Grazie Guccio
marco brenni
Epica canzone di Guccini ! Insieme a de André sono i due massimi e significativi menestrelli italiani. Non saranno mai dimenticati perché si tratta di arte e poesia vera.
Stefano Sbravati
+marco brenni Dove mettiamo Iannacci e Gaber? I 4 Grandi
Salvo Corrao
+Stefano Sbravati perchè a Pierangelo Bertoli lo tagli fuori?
Elis Arrigoni
+Salvo Corrao e rita pavone non la contate??
marco brenni
+Salvo Corrao : Non possiamo elencare tutti i bravi cantautori: stiamo parlando solo dei "pesi" massimi
alex1paglia
Una canzone dylaniana dire, il testo poetico ed il significato di non univoca interpretazione.
Francesca Barca
Poesia unica di un cantautore unico nel suo genere. È tristezza il "Non siamo" che penetra nell'anima.
Paola Gentili
Mamma mia che meraviglia, più la ascolto più mi viene di ascoltarla