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.
Vorrei
Francesco Guccini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Camminare di casa nel tuo giardino
Respirare nell'aria sale e maggese
Gli aromi della tua salvia e del rosmarino
Vorrei che tutti gli anziani mi salutassero
Parlando con me del tempo e dei giorni andati
Vorrei che gli amici tuoi tutti mi parlassero
Come se amici fossimo sempre stati
E i ciuffi di parietaria attaccati ai muri
Le strisce delle lumache nei loro gusci
Capire tutti gli sguardi dietro agli scuri
E lo vorrei
Perché non sono quando non ci sei
E resto solo coi pensieri miei ed io
Vorrei con te da solo sempre viaggiare
Scoprire quello che intorno c'è da scoprire
Per raccontarti e poi farmi raccontare
Il senso d'un rabbuiarsi o del tuo gioire
Vorrei tornare nei posti dove son stato
Spiegarti di quanto tutto sia poi diverso
E per farmi da te spiegare cos'è cambiato
E quale sapore nuovo abbia l'universo
Vedere di nuovo Istanbul o Barcellona
O il mare di una remota spiaggia cubana
O un greppe dell'Appennino dove risuona
Fra gli alberi un'usata e semplice tramontana
E lo vorrei
Perché non sono quando non ci sei
E resto solo coi pensieri miei ed io
Vorrei restare per sempre in un posto solo
Per ascoltare il suono del tuo parlare
E guardare stupito il lancio, la grazia, il volo
Impliciti dentro al semplice tuo camminare
E restare in silenzio al suono della tua voce
O parlare, parlare, parlare, parlarmi addosso
Dimenticando il tempo troppo veloce
O nascondere in due sciocchezze che son commosso
Vorrei cantare il canto delle tue mani
Giocare con te un eterno gioco proibito
Che l'oggi restasse oggi senza domani
O domani potesse tendere all'infinito
E lo vorrei
Perché non sono quando non ci sei
E resto solo coi pensieri miei ed io
The song "Vorrei" by Francesco Guccini expresses a longing to be with a loved one in their hometown and experience everything that surrounds them. The singer wants to know the smell of the place, walk in their garden, and breathe in the air filled with the scent of sage and rosemary. He also wants to meet and talk to the elderly people and friends of his loved one as if they have always been friends too. The singer desires to understand the meaning behind every object, every gesture, and every glance in the town, and build a deep connection with the place as well as his loved one.
The singer craves to travel the world with the person and explore new things together to share and learn from each other. He wants to listen to the voice of his loved one and watch her every move, in somewhat of awe. The song also highlights the desire to create a bond with a loved one that continues to grow and never ends. Overall, the lyrics of "Vorrei" portray a deep desire to be with a loved one and experience everything about them and their home.
Line by Line Meaning
Vorrei conoscer l'odore del tuo paese
I want to know the scent of your country
Camminare di casa nel tuo giardino
I want to walk through your garden
Respirare nell'aria sale e maggese
I want to breathe in the scent of salt and May in the air
Gli aromi della tua salvia e del rosmarino
I want to smell the aromas of your sage and rosemary
Vorrei che tutti gli anziani mi salutassero
I want all the elderly to greet me
Parlando con me del tempo e dei giorni andati
Talking to me about the past and gone days
Vorrei che gli amici tuoi tutti mi parlassero
I want all your friends to talk to me
Come se amici fossimo sempre stati
As if we were always friends
Vorrei incontrare le pietre, le strade, gli usci
I want to meet the stones, the streets, the doors
E i ciuffi di parietaria attaccati ai muri
And the patches of pellitory attached to the walls
Le strisce delle lumache nei loro gusci
The stripes of snails in their shells
Capire tutti gli sguardi dietro agli scuri
To understand every look behind the shutters
E lo vorrei
And I would like it
Perché non sono quando non ci sei
Because I'm not there when you're not there
E resto solo coi pensieri miei ed io
And I'm left alone with my thoughts
Vorrei con te da solo sempre viaggiare
I want to always travel alone with you
Scoprire quello che intorno c'è da scoprire
Discovering what there is to discover around us
Per raccontarti e poi farmi raccontare
To tell you and then be told
Il senso d'un rabbuiarsi o del tuo gioire
The sense of fading or your happiness
Vorrei tornare nei posti dove son stato
I want to go back to the places I've been
Spiegarti di quanto tutto sia poi diverso
Explain to you how everything is different now
E per farmi da te spiegare cos'è cambiato
And for you to explain what has changed
E quale sapore nuovo abbia l'universo
And what new flavor does the universe have
Vedere di nuovo Istanbul o Barcellona
To see Istanbul or Barcelona again
O il mare di una remota spiaggia cubana
Or the sea of a remote Cuban beach
O un greppe dell'Appennino dove risuona
Or a crevasse in the Apennines where it resonates
Fra gli alberi un'usata e semplice tramontana
Among the trees, a used and simple sunset
Vorrei restare per sempre in un posto solo
I want to stay in one place forever
Per ascoltare il suono del tuo parlare
To listen to the sound of your voice
E guardare stupito il lancio, la grazia, il volo
And gaze in wonder at the launch, grace, and flight
Impliciti dentro al semplice tuo camminare
Implicit in your simple walking
E restare in silenzio al suono della tua voce
To remain silent at the sound of your voice
O parlare, parlare, parlare, parlarmi addosso
Or talk, talk, talk, talk to me
Dimenticando il tempo troppo veloce
Forgetting the time that passes too quickly
O nascondere in due sciocchezze che son commosso
Or hide in two silly things that make me emotional
Vorrei cantare il canto delle tue mani
I want to sing the song of your hands
Giocare con te un eterno gioco proibito
To play with you an eternal forbidden game
Che l'oggi restasse oggi senza domani
So that today would remain today without tomorrow
O domani potesse tendere all'infinito
Or tomorrow could stretch to infinity
E lo vorrei
And I would like it
Perché non sono quando non ci sei
Because I'm not there when you're not there
E resto solo coi pensieri miei ed io
And I'm left alone with my thoughts
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Francesco Guccini
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind