Le Orme is one of the longest lasting and best known Italian progressive r… Read Full Bio ↴Le Orme is one of the longest lasting and best known Italian progressive rock bands.

The band was formed in Venice in 1966 by Aldo Tagliapietra (voice, guitars), Nino Smeraldi (guitars), Claudio Galietti (guitar and bass) and Marino Rebeschini (drums). Their first album, Ad Gloriam, was released in 1968. From their psychedelic and beat roots, they moved into increasingly sophisticated musical structures. Their 1973 album Felona e Sorona is widely regarded as one of the top albums in Italian progressive rock. By this time the band consisted of Tagliapietra (mostly on bass, with some guitar) along with keyboard player Tony Pagliuca, and drummer Michi dei Rossi. As the 1970s waned, Le Orme, like most progressive bands, shortened and simplified their music.

Starting in the late 1990s, a resurgence of interest in progressive rock led the band to revisit elements of their classic style, and the albums Il fiume (1999), Elementi (2001), and L'infinito (2004) have been received favourably in the progressive community.

1966-67
Aldo Tagliapietra (vocals, guitar)
Nino Smeraldi (guitar)
Claudio Galieti (bass)
Marino Rebeschini (drums)

1967
Rebeschini replaced by:
Giuseppe "Michi" Dei Rossi (drums)

1968-70
Aldo Tagliapietra (vocals, guitar)
Nino Smeraldi (guitar)
Antonio "Toni" Pagliuca (keyboards)
Claudio Galieti (bass)
Michi Dei Rossi (drums)

1969
Galieti quits, De Rossi temporarily replaced by
Dave Baker (drums)

1970-75
Aldo Tagliapietra (vocals, bass, guitar)
Toni Pagliuca (keyboards)
Michi Dei Rossi (drums)

1975
enters:
Tolo Marton (guitar)

1976-80
Marton replaced by:
Germano Serafin (guitar)

1980-82 and again 1986-1990
Aldo Tagliapietra (vocals, bass, guitar)
Toni Pagliuca (keyboards)
Michi Dei Rossi (drums)

1996-2000
Aldo Tagliapietra (vocals, bass, guitar)
Michele Bon (keyboards)
Francesco Sartori (keyboards)
Michi Dei Rossi (drums)

2001
Sartori replaced by
Andrea Bassato (keyboards, violin)

Jaffa
Le Orme Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

L'acqua più fresca dal nulla ne scaturì
Il sole si nascose, dal cielo scese il pane
E ritornò la quiete fra la gente.
Un altro mistero si aggiunge ai miei "perché?".
Oggi si scava il sogno sulla rovente sabbia
E il fiume sudore disseta radici nuove,
Fugge il miraggio e un Paradiso già si rivela,
Il fiore d'arancio profuma così il deserto.

Occhi che fissano il vuoto rimpiangono
Figli lontani dispersi nelle città.
Nella mia terra I vecchi ulivi stanno pregando
Stringono in pugno collane di perle nere;

La frutta dorata che il sole dona come rugiada
Semina rabbia, nei fossi sacrificata.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Le Orme's Jaffa combines spiritual and environmental imagery as a means of exploring the complex nature of existence. The opening lines speak of water sprouting from nothingness while the sun hides and bread descends from the sky, symbolizing divine intervention. The subsequent lines describe the desert, with its sweltering sand and mirages, and the process of digging dreams from the sand. The lyrics seem to be asking what the purpose of existence is and whether it has any meaning at all.

Later on, the lines refer to the pain of separation, with longing eyes that wish for the return of absent children. The final lines describe the country of the singer, where the elderly olive trees are praying and holding tightly onto collars of black pearls. These lines seem to be about remembering the beauty of the past and the harshness of the present, as evidenced by the metaphor of fruit being sacrificed in the trenches. The overall effect is of a song that asks deep questions about purpose and meaning, while also inviting the listener to reflect on the beauty and fragility of the natural world.

Line by Line Meaning

L'acqua più fresca dal nulla ne scaturì
Freshwater sprang from nothingness

Il sole si nascose, dal cielo scese il pane
The sun hid, and bread descended from the sky

E ritornò la quiete fra la gente.
And peace returned amongst the people.

Un altro mistero si aggiunge ai miei "perché?"
Another mystery adds to my "why?"

Oggi si scava il sogno sulla rovente sabbia
Today, dreams dig into the scorching sand.

E il fiume sudore disseta radici nuove,
And the sweat river quenches new roots,

Fugge il miraggio e un Paradiso già si rivela,
The mirage flees, and a paradise already reveals itself,

Il fiore d'arancio profuma così il deserto.
The orange blossom perfumes the desert so.

Occhi che fissano il vuoto rimpiangono
Eyes that stare at emptiness mourn.

Figli lontani dispersi nelle città.
Distant children scattered in cities.

Nella mia terra i vecchi ulivi stanno pregando
In my land, old olive trees are praying.