He was the composer of Caruso (1986), which has been covered by numerous international artists. A version of Caruso sung by Luciano Pavarotti sold over 9 million copies and the song was a track on Andrea Bocelli's first international album Romanza which has sold over 16 million albums world wide thus far; the song is a tribute to the emblematic opera tenor Enrico Caruso.
He began to play the clarinet at an early age, in a jazz band in Rome. The singer-songwriter Gino Paoli noticed Dalla's vocal qualities and suggested he attempt a solo career as an Italian soul singer. In 1964, at age 21, Dalla recorded his first 45 rpm containing "Lei (non è per me)" and "Ma questa sera". However, Dalla's debut at the Cantagiro festival in 1965 was unsuccessful probably due to his appearance and to his music, which was considered too experimental for the time. His first album, 1999, was released the following year. His next album, Terra di Gaibola (from the name of a suburb of Bologna), was released in 1970 and contained some early Dalla classics.
His first hit was "4 Marzo 1943", which garnered some success at the Sanremo Festival. Regardless of its title, the song became popularly known as "Gesu bambino". Also successful was "Piazza grande", which Dalla would sing again at Sanremo.
At this point, Dalla made a decisive move in his career, starting a collaboration with the Bolognese poet Roberto Roversi. Roversi wrote the lyrics to Dalla's next three albums Il giorno aveva cinque teste (The Day Had Five Heads) (1973), Anidride solforosa (1975) and Automobili (Automobiles) (1976) Although these albums did not sell in large numbers, they were noted by critics for the unusual mix of Roversi's weird lyrics with Dalla's improvisatory, and sometimes experimental, compositional abilities.
The duo had already broken up by the time the concept album Automobili was released. Roversi, who had been against the album's release, chose the pseudonym "Norisso" when it was time to register the songs. The album, however, included one of Dalla's most popular songs, "Nuvolari", named after the famous 1930s Italian racer.
Affected by the end of the collaboration, Dalla decided to write the lyrics of his next albums himself. This decision proved to be surprisingly good, and he soon emerged as one of the most intelligent and musically cultured of the Italian singer-songwriters. The first album of this new phase was Com'è profondo il mare (1977), in which Dalla was accompanied by some members of the future pop band Stadio. The title track or "Quale allegria" are today ranked among the best Italian songs.
Dalla's poetic inspiration was confirmed by the following albums, all entitled Lucio Dalla or Dalla and all best-sellers. They contain classics like "Anna e Marco", "L'anno che verrà", "Futura", and "Cara".
In 1979, his popularity was confirmed by the success of the Banana Republic tour and album of 1979 together with singer-songwriter Francesco De Gregori, his band, and his friend Ron.
The hit single Attenti al Lupo (1990) gave him wider success in Europe.
He was invited for duetting on Pavarotti and friends, singing his own hit "Caruso" with Luciano Pavarotti.
He died from a heart attack in 1 March 2012 while on tour at Switzerland.
Lei
Lucio Dalla Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mi dicevano, mi dicevano così
Ma da te volevo un mondo, un mondo nuovo
E io, amore, io non ascoltavo mai
Lei, lei non è, non è per te
Come è facile, come è facile da dire
Ma con te avevo un paradiso
Tu non sei, no, non sei, non sei per me
Ed ora, ed ora te ne vai, sì, te ne
Te ne vai
Ma ti dico, ma ti dico ancora grazie, grazie
E lo sai, lo sai
Lo sai che anche io piangerò
The lyrics of Lucio Dalla's song "Lei" tell the story of a person who has been repeatedly told that the person they are in love with is not right for them. Despite the warnings, the singer is infatuated and desires a new world with this person. They admit that they never listened to the advice because with this person, they had a paradise. However, in the end, the person they love decides to leave, and while expressing gratitude, the singer acknowledges that they will also cry.
These lyrics portray the universal conflict between reason and emotion in relationships. The singer disregards the opinions of others and follows their heart, even if it means facing inevitable pain. The song captures the bittersweet feeling of being aware of the futility of a relationship but being unable to resist it.
Line by Line Meaning
Lei, lei non è, non è per te
She, she is not, is not for you
Mi dicevano, mi dicevano così
They told me, they told me so
Ma da te volevo un mondo, un mondo nuovo
But from you, I wanted a new world, a new world
E io, amore, io non ascoltavo mai
And I, my love, I never listened
Lei, lei non è, non è per te
She, she is not, is not for you
Come è facile, come è facile da dire
How easy, how easy it is to say
Ma con te avevo un paradiso
But with you, I had a paradise
E io, amore, io non ascoltavo mai
And I, my love, I never listened
Tu non sei, no, non sei, non sei per me
You are not, no, you are not, are not for me
Ed ora, ed ora te ne vai, sì, te ne
And now, and now you go away, yes, you go away
Te ne vai
You go away
Ma ti dico, ma ti dico ancora grazie, grazie
But I tell you, but I tell you thank you again, thank you
E lo sai, lo sai
And you know, you know
Lo sai che anche io piangerò
You know that I will also cry
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: GIAN PIERO REVERBERI, SERGIO BARDOTTI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
giancarlo barrella
BELLISSIMA ANCHE SE MOLTI L'HANNO DIMENTICATA
Giovanni Acquaviva
Più che di Ray Charles, direi che questa è una cover di Bessie Smith del 1928... anche se all'epoca il termine "cover" non era ancora in uso.
ETERE RADIOASCOLTO
Ma come, la 'gavetta', gli inizi di uno dei più grandi cantanti italiani, non interessano proprio a nessuno? Mah...
Michele Laraia
Il Dalla anni 60 e' interessante,invece!
15 bool
Adesso interessa ad uno in più...
coccy1961
Chi ha messo questa registrazione ha detto una bugia questa non è la versione del 45 giri ma quella del 33 giri 1999 che è diversa sia nel canto che nell'arrangiamento vi prego correggetela e non fate i furbi!!
Michele Laraia
@coccy1961 eh,si',in Italia le cose arrivavano,e arrivano,l'anno dopo rispetto a loro!
coccy1961
@Michele Laraia mi sembra 1963 il disco é de La voce del Padrone
Michele Laraia
@coccy1961 ah,buono a sapersi!stesso anno,presumo,della cover.
coccy1961
@Michele Laraia ho il 45 giri di Ray Charles Careless love