Patty Pravo (born Nicoletta Strambelli, 9 April 1948 Venice, Italy) is an I… Read Full Bio ↴Patty Pravo (born Nicoletta Strambelli, 9 April 1948 Venice, Italy) is an Italian Pop singer whose career has spanned more than four decades. Her first single "Ragazzo triste", released in 1966, was the first pop song aired on Vatican Radio. In 2011 she participated - for the eighth time - in the Italian song contest, the San Remo Music Festival.

She became famous still very young as "the Piper girl", from the name of a fashion music club in Rome where she used to sing in the '60 years. She has experimented every kind of music over the 40 years of her career, from early pop songs to electronic, chinese music and rock; her masterpiece is the record "Oltre l'Eden...", published in 1989 and reprinted on CD again in 2006.

La Forma Materiale
Patty Pravo Lyrics

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Riesco a vedere solo poco lontano
E se tutto non fosse così confuso io
Ti prenderei per mano
Spingerei il pulsante e
Scenderei scenderei
Ventimila leghe dalla forma materiale
Sotto quel che è superficiale… superficiale
Riesco a capire ora fuori dal suono

E fuori dai colori
Che siamo fatti d'acqua e come l'acqua
E come l'acqua, come l'acqua
Abbiamo strade dove scorrere
Prima di arrivare, di arrivare al mare
Così ti prenderei per mano
Scenderei, scenderei
Ventimila leghe dalla forma materiale
Ventimila leghe dalla forma materiale
Ventimila leghe dalla forma materiale
E poi mi immergerei, mi immergerei con te
A malincuore per colpa od errore
Sigillo in quest'ultimo ballo
La morsa che stringe e attanaglia
L'orgoglio si sbaglia
Lasciarlo morire sarebbe un peccato mortale

Del cuore
È vivo se si muove

Overall Meaning

The song "La Forma Materiale" by Patty Pravo talks about perception, understanding and the desire to connect with something beyond the surface. The opening of the song, "Riesco a vedere solo poco lontano" ("I can only see a little far"), implies a limitation in perception that the singer is aware of. However, despite this limitation, the singer expresses their desire to take someone's hand and go deeper, "Sotto quel che è superficiale," ("Under what is superficial"), to understand more about themselves and the world around them. The repetition of "come l'acqua" ("like water") highlights the idea of fluidity and change, that everything is in a constant state of flux, just like water flowing down a stream, and that we should embrace this change.

The second verse introduces the idea of roads that we must travel before reaching the sea. These roads represent the paths we must take and the obstacles we must overcome in order to reach a place of deeper understanding. The singer again expresses their desire to take someone's hand and move forward together, "Così ti prenderei per mano/Scenderei, scenderei/Ventimila leghe dalla forma materiale" ("So I would take your hand/And we would descend/20,000 leagues beyond material form"). The repetition of the phrase "Ventimila leghe dalla forma materiale" emphasizes the idea of going beyond the surface to find a deeper truth.

The final verse touches on the idea that letting go of pride and embracing change is necessary for growth and understanding. The line "Lasciarlo morire sarebbe un peccato mortale/Del cuore" ("Letting it die would be a mortal sin/Of the heart") highlights the importance of letting go of destructive emotions and tendencies in order to truly move forward.

Line by Line Meaning

Riesco a vedere solo poco lontano
I can only see a little bit into the future.

E se tutto non fosse così confuso io
And if everything were not so confusing, I would.

Ti prenderei per mano
I would take you by the hand.

Spingerei il pulsante e
I would press the button and

Scenderei scenderei
We would descend, descend

Ventimila leghe dalla forma materiale
Twenty thousand leagues from material form

Sotto quel che è superficiale... superficiale
Below what is superficial... superficial

Riesco a capire ora fuori dal suono
I can now understand outside of sound.

E fuori dai colori
And outside of colors.

Che siamo fatti d'acqua e come l'acqua
That we are made of water and like water

E come l'acqua, come l'acqua
And like water, like water.