1) Progressive… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least three acts using the initials PFM:
1) Progressive Future Music, originally a duo of Mike Bolton & Jamie Saker, later Mike Bolton alone. English pioneers in the 'Intelligent' subgenre of Drum and Bass, closely associated with LTJ Bukem and MC Conrad. The album Producer 02 here is by Mike Bolton. They first came to the attention of many Drum and Bass enthusiasts with their popular atmospheric number "Danny's Song", a tribute to LTJ Bukem himself, which appeared on the 1996 Looking Good / Good Looking compilation "LTJ Bukem Presents : Logical Progression Level One".
2) Premiata Forneria Marconi,Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) (translation: Award-winning Marconi Bakery) is an italian progressive rock band. They were the first Italian group to have success abroad, entering both the British and American charts. Between 1973 and 1977 they released five albums with English lyrics. They also had several successful European and American tours, playing at the popular Reading Festival in England and on a very popular national television programme in the U.S.A.
PFM introduced new sounds, such as the synthesizer, to the Italian musical world. They were also among the first to combine symphonic classical and traditional Italian musical influences in a rock music context. Such innovations and their longevity have made them among the most important bands in the international progressive rock genre.
The original core members of PFM (Franco Mussida, Franz Di Cioccio, Flavio Premoli, and Giorgio Piazza) came together in the mid 1960’s while playing together as backup musicians for many different Italian pop, rock and folk singers such as Lucio Battisti, Mina, Adriano Celentano and Fabrizio De André. They appeared on many recordings for other artists during this period and quickly established themselves as top players on the Italian rock and pop scene. Mussida, Premoli, Piazza and Di Cioccio then formed the group “I Quelli” (English translation “Them”, or “Those Guys”) in 1968. I quelli released one album and some successful Italian singles.
3) A band from Melbourne Australia active in the late 1980s and 1990s also known as Practical Folk Music.
Harlequin
PFM Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
bowing to the ghosts of freedom square
stretching a silver rope
jester of frozen minds
And everyone of us
junkees and ghosts of freedom square
spoke through his waving hands
whispered through painted lips
rusty phrases forgotten lines
Thinking of arrows lost
shooting them past the pain
And everyone of us
losers and lost sad underdogs
just scraps of our younger minds
we danced all around the square
jumped to his see-through horn
screaming shouting forgotten lines
Shooting our rage again
like arrows far past the pain
And when the dogs fast arrived
baying across the town
we were there
all of us
a million harlequins
And the town
bloomed alive
like a beautiful night fair
and we were there
all of us
to be the rite of may....
The song "Harlequin" by PFM portrays the story of a jester named Harlequin who shows up at night and bows to the ghosts of Freedom Square while stretching a silver rope. He is the jester of frozen minds and everyone, including the junkees, ghosts, losers, underdogs, and forgotten minds in the square, speaks through his waving hands. They weep on his brother's face and whisper their rusty phrases and forgotten lines through painted lips.
The people in the square think of their lost arrows and shoot them past their pain. The losers and lost underdogs dance all around the square, jump to his see-through horn, and scream their forgotten lines, shooting their rage like arrows far past the pain. When the dogs fast arrived, baying across the town, these people become a million harlequins. And the town, bloomed alive, like a beautiful night fair as they became a rite of May.
The song portrays the idea of freedom, forgetting the past's pain and hurt, and releasing our emotions. It encourages us to live in the moment and enjoy life without worrying about what happened in the past.
Line by Line Meaning
Harlequin came at night
The character of Harlequin made an appearance during the night.
bowing to the ghosts of freedom square
The Harlequin showed respect to the spirits of Freedom Square by bowing.
stretching a silver rope
The Harlequin extended a silver rope.
jester of frozen minds
The Harlequin was a jester for people who felt stuck and unable to move forward.
And everyone of us
All of the people in the area were affected by Harlequin's actions.
junkees and ghosts of freedom square
The people who were affected included both drug addicts and the spirits that reside in Freedom Square.
spoke through his waving hands
The Harlequin used hand gestures to communicate messages.
wept on his brother face
People there cried on each other's faces.
whispered through painted lips
People spoke softly while wearing makeup like the Harlequin.
rusty phrases forgotten lines
People used old phrases and lines they had forgotten.
Thinking of arrows lost
People were preoccupied with thoughts of arrows that couldn't be found.
shooting them past the pain
They thought about shooting the arrows, past the hurt they've experienced.
losers and lost sad underdogs
Everyone there was considered a failure, lost, and not successful.
just scraps of our younger minds
They felt like they were just pieces or memories of their past selves.
we danced all around the square
Everyone at the gathering danced around the square together.
jumped to his see-through horn
People jumped towards the Harlequin's invisible horn.
screaming shouting forgotten lines
They shouted out lines they had previously forgotten.
Shooting our rage again
People took out their anger once more.
like arrows far past the pain
They aimed their anger at things outside of what hurt them.
And when the dogs fast arrived
Dogs arrived quickly at the scene.
baying across the town
The dogs made loud, persistent sounds throughout the town.
we were there
Everyone there remained despite the dogs' arrival.
all of us
Everyone who had come earlier remained despite the chaos.
a million harlequins
Everyone there became like the Harlequin.
And the town
The incident affected the entire town.
bloomed alive
The town became lively.
like a beautiful night fair
It was like a stunning carnival that night.
to be the rite of may....
The gathering became the new tradition for the month of May.
Contributed by Blake D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Manuel Exposito
En 1975, cuando todo el rock sinfónico estaba monopolizado por los ingleses, descubrí a PFM, para mi una auténtica revelación latina, que entró en mi vida como un soplo de aire fresco.
sidefish
I love that section between 1:58 and 2:07 and they only play it once in the entire track, Sublime.
Luciano Catarin
Grandissima canzone della band, eccezionali musicisti, straordinaria voce di Bernardo lanzetti
javier actis perino
Uno de los mejores temas del rock progresivo y tengo el disco en vinilo! Únicos! Me recuerda cuando lo escuche por primera vez y no lo podía creer. Gracias por compartirlo.
Luciano Catarin
Trovo veramente che sia uno dei più bei pezzi pop rock di tutti i tempi,quindi non solo italiano
ZenerSmytok
This is totally awesome. I love the whole Chocolate Kings album. I saw PFM in Edinburgh, Scotland on Thurs 29 April 1976. The whole band made a huge impression on me. They were also the loudest band that I have ever heard. My hearing was affected for a few days afterwards. Even now, I would class Chocolate Kings as one of my "desert island discs".
Burt472
Thanks from Italy for your kind comment
Burt472
Credo che Harlequin sia uno dei loro pezzi migliori in assoluto
Vanni 56
Tira pure via il CREDO... 🤣 🤣 👍
roberto riccardi
Grande album.Lanzetti una voce strepitosa...