His performing career began as a vibraphone player in local and touring bands. He began songwriting with his brother Giorgio Conte early on and eventually began writing songs of his own. As a poet, painter and lawyer as well as a musician, he first earned attention during the late '60s and early '70s as the creative force behind hits from Adriano Celentano and Patty Pravo. Conte began his solo career with a 1974 self-titled LP, with subsequent efforts like 1987's Aguaplano and 1990's Parole D'Amore Scritte a Macchina enjoying considerable success throughout Europe. 1998's Paolo Conte, a greatest-hits collection, was his first U.S. release. His compilation album is titled The Best of Paolo Conte.
Some of his hits were used in many movies, for example "Come di" (1999), "Via con me" in French Kiss (1995), Welcome to Collinwood (2002) , "Sparring Partner" in 5x2 (2004), "Chiamami Adesso" in The Lake House (2006), and the "Fritz" Coca Cola commercial that was widely shown in US movie theaters in early 2006. French humourist Pierre Desproges used both in his Chroniques de la haine ordinaire. The lyrics of "Insieme a te non ci sto più" was performed by Caterina Caselli in the Italian 2001 hit-at-Cannes La Stanza del Figlio.
Paolo Conte was a lawyer for years and has only retired recently.
Il Regno del tango
Paolo Conte Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
ho una valigia di carton
sono vestito sì in borghese
ma dentro c'è il bandoneon
Potrei sembrare un ragioniere
anche un geometra potrei
ma un tango sento io gridare
Fermo davanti ad un cinema
del '900 d'élite
dove ogni tanto fan musica
sei giorni no e un giorno sì
dan poco o niente di stipendio
per un tanguero encantador
è questo dunque il bel compendio
di un'esistenza di languor
Ma non importa però vivo
un bel silenzio nel rumor
e osservo con lo sguardo bravo
il paesaggio dell'amor
Ci sono anime segrete fregate dall'ispirazion
sono persone che hanno sete
di dadaismo di astrazion
Aeh.. di un erotismo sconfinato
che sembra quasi una illusion
come un mistero mormorato
sui tasti del bandoneon
E sull'ingresso del cinema
la proprietaria mi fa:
\"Eh, sono io la musica,
va via pezzente, va, va\"
Con una furia dinamica
come se fosse un capron
scalciando brutta bisbetica
coi piedi sul bandoneon
Bandoneon vecchio leon
mordila
bandoneon vecchio leon
mordila
The song "Il Regno del tango" by Paolo Conte tells a story of a man who may seem like an ordinary person in society, but in reality, he carries a deep passion for tango music. This man describes himself as a traveler, having nothing but a cardboard suitcase with him, but the most valuable possession inside it, his bandoneon. He may look like a regular accountant, but inside him, he feels the urge and longing to express himself through tango music.
Standing in front of a century-old elite cinema, he observes the people and the city around him while tapping his foot to the rhythm in his heart. The man also speaks of the secret souls with an unquenchable thirst for dadaism, abstractions, and endless eroticism, as if a mystery whispered on the keys of his bandoneon. The owner of the cinema insults and hurls abuse at him, ordering him to leave like an unwanted beggar.
Throughout the song, the man expresses his love for the art of tango, not just as music but as a way of life. The bandoneon, the main instrument of tango, represents his passion for this art form. The song portrays the character's perseverance and determination to follow his heart and pursue his passion, despite the world's harsh reality.
Line by Line Meaning
Non son neanche del paese
I am not even from this place
ho una valigia di carton
I have a cardboard suitcase
sono vestito sì in borghese
I am dressed like a bourgeois
ma dentro c'è il bandoneon
But inside, there's a bandoneon
Potrei sembrare un ragioniere
I could seem like an accountant
anche un geometra potrei
I could be a surveyor
ma un tango sento io gridare
But I hear a tango crying
in fondo ai sentimenti miei
deep within my feelings
Fermo davanti ad un cinema
Standing in front of a cinema
del '900 d'élite
from the elite 1900s
dove ogni tanto fan musica
Where they occasionally play music
sei giorni no e un giorno sì
Six days off and one day on
dan poco o niente di stipendio
I earn little or no salary
per un tanguero encantador
For an enchanting tanguero
è questo dunque il bel compendio
This is therefore the beautiful summary
di un'esistenza di languor
of a languorous existence
Ma non importa però vivo
But it doesn't matter, I still live
un bel silenzio nel rumor
In a beautiful silence amidst the noise
e osservo con lo sguardo bravo
And I observe with a skilled gaze
il paesaggio dell'amor
The landscape of love
Ci sono anime segrete fregate dall'ispirazion
There are secret souls stolen by inspiration
sono persone che hanno sete
People who thirst
di dadaismo di astrazion
For dadaism and abstraction
Aeh.. di un erotismo sconfinato
Of infinite eroticism
che sembra quasi una illusion
That almost seems like an illusion
come un mistero mormorato
Like a whispered mystery
sui tasti del bandoneon
On the keys of the bandoneon
E sull'ingresso del cinema
And at the entrance of the cinema
la proprietaria mi fa:
The owner says to me:
"Eh, sono io la musica,
"Hey, I am the music,
va via pezzente, va, va"
Get out of here, you bum, go, go"
Con una furia dinamica
With a dynamic fury
come se fosse un capron
As if she were a goat
scalciando brutta bisbetica
Kicking ugly and quarrelsome
coi piedi sul bandoneon
With her feet on the bandoneon
Bandoneon vecchio leon
Old lion-like bandoneon
mordila
Bite it
bandoneon vecchio leon
Old lion-like bandoneon
mordila
Bite it
Contributed by Sydney M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Isabella Bagliani
Meraviglia 💃🏻
Rosana Giorgi
Non l'avevo mai sentito. Mi piace davvero, una voce che donde la musi a e la poesía in u.a.sola nostalgia
Luciano Veneziano
Ascolta "Troppo difficile"
Pasquale Fama
Caro Topolin44..come al solito non hanno capito un c...ma siccome sono geloso di questa ..poesia..dico per fortuna
Ivano Casaccia
un tango sopraffino e malandrino , non se ne sentono così!