Her first album was released in 1976 but her hit was in 1979 with the single America and the album California, which became a success in several European countries. The rise to fame in Italy started in 1984 with the release of her sixth album, Puzzle. This album peaked in the top 10 at the Italian, German, Austrian and Swiss hit-parades. She sang for the videoclip Fotoromanza (directed by Michelangelo Antonioni), won several musical awards and started a European tour, including a participation at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1986 her hit Bello e impossibile was a huge success and brought her more awards in Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Her 1987 compilation Maschi e altri sold over a million copies.
In 1990 she sang Un'estate italiana, the official song of the Football World Cup 1990, together with Edoardo Bennato.
She graduated in philosophy from the University of Siena in 1994. The following year she took part in a protest organized by Greenpeace at the French embassy in Rome against the decision of the French government to pursue nuclear experiments at Mururoa.
Her album Grazie was released in February 2006, and has peaked at number one of the Italian hit-parade with the single Sei nell'anima. After this two more released and another one is planned for 2011titled: "Io e te".
Una radura...
Gianna Nannini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
E tre fili d'erba sparsi quà e là
Vedo tanta gente colorata
Dipinti e stracci rotti
Senza tradizioni donne e uomini
Si sente un eco insolito
La voce sembra quasi un'evasione
Si muovono le labbra e
Io sulle radure con la terra rimossa
Insieme agli altri ribaltata sto
Respirando questa terra nuda
E tutti all'improvviso
Con l'inconscio in mano ci ripiantiamo
The lyrics of "Una radura" by Gianna Nannini describe a scene of a clearing where the earth has been moved and three blades of grass have been dislodged. In this space, there are many colorful people, dressed in either paintings or tattered clothes, without any traditions or history. The voice of these people creates an unusual echo, as if it is an act of escape. As they move their lips, they speak in sounds, their words have lost meaning. The singer is standing alongside these people, overturned with the earth, breathing a naked earth.
The lyricist seems to be depicting a situation where people have lost touch with their roots, culture or traditions. The people in the clearing, though colorful, have lost themselves in their quest for fitting into a new world or new ideals. Their speech has become meaningless as they seem to have forgotten their place in time and space. In contrast, the singer is holding onto the stripped earth, trying to find a connection to the past, to find herself, as she is surrounded by like-minded people.
Overall, the song reflects on the idea of people being weighed down by their past and traditions, yet at the same time struggling to hold onto them, in a world of constant change.
Line by Line Meaning
Una radura la terra rimossa
A clearing, the land that has been turned over.
E tre fili d'erba sparsi quà e là
And three scattered blades of grass here and there.
Vedo tanta gente colorata
I see many colorful people.
Dipinti e stracci rotti
Paintings and torn rags.
Senza tradizioni donne e uomini
Without traditions, women and men.
Si sente un eco insolito
An unusual echo is heard.
La voce sembra quasi un'evasione
The voice seems almost like an escape.
Si muovono le labbra e
The lips move and
Sono diventate suoni le parole
The words have become sounds.
Io sulle radure con la terra rimossa
I am on the clearings with the turned over land.
Insieme agli altri ribaltata sto
Together with the others I am overturned.
Respirando questa terra nuda
Breathing in this naked land.
E tutti all'improvviso
And suddenly, everyone
Con l'inconscio in mano ci ripiantiamo
With our unconscious in hand, we replant ourselves.
Contributed by Henry Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.