Renato Fiacchini was born in Rome in the Via di Ripetta, next to the Via del Corso.
He quit his studies early to devote himself to his true passion, playing music and singing - though initially with little success. He replied to the criticisms (including the recurring insult Sei uno zero! - "You're a zero!") by assuming the alter-ego of Renato Zero. After several different jobs, including an appearance in an advertisement for ice-cream, he recorded his first singles in 1965: "Tu, sì", "Il deserto", "La solitudine", which were never issued. His first published single, "Non basta sai/In mezzo ai guai" (1967), sold a total of 20 copies.
In the late 1960s Zero's career was favoured by the glam-rock fashion, which he had somehow presaged with his sexual ambiguity and androgynous appearance. At the same time, this led him to be accused of cloning characters like David Bowie. In 1973 he issued his first LP, No! Mamma, no! (live), but with little success. The follow-up Invenzioni met the same fate.
Birth of the "Zerophilia"
It was not until 1976 that he scored his first hit with the single "Madame". "Madame" and the album including it, Trapezio, established a regular and loyal audience for Zero. This was to increase exponentially in the following years, until he could boast a huge following of die-hard fans that he dubbed "Sorcini" ("Little Mice").
The late 1970s were indeed years of great success for Zero's character, with the LPs Zerofobia ("Zerophobia", 1977), Zerolandia (1978) and Erozero (1979) topping the Italian charts. At this time Renato Zero was amongst the two or three most popular singers in Italy and his song "Il Carrozzone" was already regarded, also by critics, as one of the best Italian songs ever.
In 1979 Zero played himself in the movie "Ciao Nì" (his usual greeting to his fans, which can be roughly translated as "Hi pal!"). In Italy this film was to be more successful than the blockbuster "Superman".
The 1980s
In the 1980s he began to abandon make-up and greasepaint, but this did not rid Zero of his mania for grandeur: in the 1980 tour, for example, he entered the scene riding a white horse. In 1982 he began a collaboration with the opera director Renato Serio, who was to write the string arrangements for almost all of Zero's following LPs. In late 1983 he took part in RAI's Fantastico 3, then the most popular Italian TV show.
His career continued to be successful until 1984, with top-charts songs like "Amico" ("Friend") and "Spiagge" ("Beaches"). That year, however, his album Leoni si nasce and the tour of the same name, in which he appeared disguised as a lion and escorted by four aborigines, were commercial failures. The album Zero of 1987 marked the low point of his career: instead of playing in arenas and stadiums, Zero had to sing almost for free in the piazzas and discos of Italy's minor cities.
1990s and 2000s: the Comeback
In 1991 Renato Zero participated to the Sanremo Music Festival with "Spalle al muro", and from that moment on his career began to rise again. In 1993 he was nr.1 in the Italian charts with the LP Quando non sei più nessuno. The following year Imperfetto repeated this success. During his tour concerts would regularly sell out, and he returned to his famous dress changes during the spectacles, although in a less kitsch and more balanced style.
In 2004 his tour "Cattura il sogno/Il sogno continua" (Catch the dream/The dream continues) was awarded from Pollstar magazine as the most successful of the year in Italy and as well as one of the most successful worldwide (#30). The recording af the Roman concerts, held at Olimpico Stadium in June, was the best selled musical DVD of 2004. In 2005 he took part to the Italian stage of Live 8, in the Circo Massimo. In November his new album Il dono ("The Gift") topped the charts and maintained #1 until the end of the year. In December 2005 he performed in the Vatican with a song dedicated to Pope John Paul II. Renato Zero's most recent tour started in February 2006 and is entitled Zero movimento. During some concerts held at the time of the campaign for the April 2006 elections he declared himself against former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Casal de' Pazzi
Renato Zero Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dove i poeti non crescono più.
Genziane rosa affogate nel fango.
L'incanto eterno, amori di una gioventù,
Resa impudica dall'ipocrisia.
Festa fuggevole di ripulse fragili.
Miti rossori, ancor più mite arrendersi.
Casal De' Pazzi, alveari di polvere.
Ragazzi in cerca, ragazzi da vendere.
Anime escluse alluvionate e tragiche,
Che il fiume in piena non porta mai via.
Di là dal ponte biciclette ai margini.
E bulli e belli, criminosi e poveri.
Bravate al danzo e bestemmiare inutile.
C'è sempre un muro,
Tra illusione e futuro.
Dimmi che ancora sei qui,
Che esiste un cielo, per il tuo volo.
Non è diverso per chi ci va…
Dimmi di quella poesia
Come di rosa, ferita accesa
La voce tua che dà
La voce del tuo coraggio a chi non ce l'ha.
Si spegne il sole a farsi male.
Casal De' Pazzi ragazzi di vita
Sono ragazzi di morte ormai.
Non più speranza di uscire dal limite.
Brucia ricchezza e guai la meglio gioventù.
Diversa fame, diversa follia.
Festa fuggevole, amaro gioco il vivere,
E per morire… un'altra malattia.
Casal De' Pazzi, dei pazzi sognanti,
Un'ideale e già volano via.
Ali dischiuse dal fango alle nuvole.
Angeli dagli amori così liberi,
Che non volendo si specchiano in Dio.
Di là dal ponte, c'è una Roma a perdere.
E gli atti impuri, ormai non uccidono,
Un'innocenza già abortita al nascere.
Dimmi che ancora sei qui,
Che esiste un cielo, per il perdono,
E la violenza si fa pietà.
Dimmi di quella poesia
Come di rosa, ferita accesa
La voce tua che da
La voce del tuo coraggio a chi non ce l'ha.
E farsi male. E farsi male. E farsi male
The song "Casal De' Pazzi" by Renato Zero is a poignant and insightful commentary on the harsh realities faced by young people in the outskirts of Rome. The song starts off by describing this place - Casal De' Pazzi - where poets do not grow anymore and where even the beautiful genziana flowers have drowned in mud. The eternal enchantment and innocent love of youth have been corrupted by hypocrisy and transient parties. The neighborhood, which is filled with excluded and tragic souls, is a source of bitterness for its natives. The lyrics suggest that Casal De' Pazzi is a place where people get trapped, unable to leave the cycle of poverty, crime and despair.
As the song continues, Zero paints a picture of teenagers who are seeking a way out of their miserable existence. However, they are constantly faced with bullies, criminals, and the stark reality of their own mortality. They live fleeting lives, and their only solace is in meaningless bravado and cursing. The wall between illusion and future is always present, blocking any real hope of change. In the end, Zero presents some hope that things can still change. He asks that we tell him that we are still here, that there is still heaven above, that poetry and courage still have a place in this world. The song ends on a bittersweet note as Zero says that sometimes hurting ourselves is the only way to fly.
Line by Line Meaning
Casal De' Pazzi ai confini di un mondo,
Casal De' Pazzi is situated on the edge of a world where poets no longer exist.
Dove i poeti non crescono più.
Where poets no longer grow.
Genziane rosa affogate nel fango.
Pink gentian flowers drowned in mud.
L'incanto eterno, amori di una gioventù,
The eternal enchantment of youthful love.
Resa impudica dall'ipocrisia.
Rendered impure by hypocrisy.
Festa fuggevole di ripulse fragili.
Fleeting celebration of fragile rejections.
Miti rossori, ancor più mite arrendersi.
Myths of shyness, even more mild surrender.
Casal De' Pazzi, alveari di polvere.
Casal De' Pazzi, beehives of dust.
Matrice amara, borgata natia.
Bitter home village, native district.
Ragazzi in cerca, ragazzi da vendere.
Boys in search, boys to sell.
Anime escluse alluvionate e tragiche,
Excluded, flooded and tragic souls.
Che il fiume in piena non porta mai via.
That even the flooded river cannot carry away.
Di là dal ponte biciclette ai margini.
Beyond the bridge, bicycles on the margins.
E bulli e belli, criminosi e poveri.
And bullies and beauties, criminals and poor people.
Bravate al danzo e bestemmiare inutile.
Boasting in dance and useless blasphemy.
C'è sempre un muro,
There is always a wall.
Tra illusione e futuro.
Between illusion and future.
Dimmi che ancora sei qui,
Tell me that you are still here.
Che esiste un cielo, per il tuo volo.
That there is a sky for your flight.
Non è diverso per chi ci va…
It's no different for those who go there.
Dimmi di quella poesia
Tell me about that poetry.
Come di rosa, ferita accesa
Like a rose, a burning wound.
La voce tua che dà
Your voice that gives.
La voce del tuo coraggio a chi non ce l'ha.
The voice of your courage to those who don't have it.
Si spegne il sole a farsi male.
The sun goes down and hurts itself.
Casal De' Pazzi ragazzi di vita
Casal De' Pazzi, boys of life.
Sono ragazzi di morte ormai.
Now they are boys of death.
Non più speranza di uscire dal limite.
No hope of getting out of the limit.
Brucia ricchezza e guai la meglio gioventù.
The best youth burns with riches and troubles.
Diversa fame, diversa follia.
Different hunger, different madness.
Festa fuggevole, amaro gioco il vivere,
Fleeting celebration, bitter game of living.
E per morire… un'altra malattia.
And to die... another disease.
Casal De' Pazzi, dei pazzi sognanti,
Casal De' Pazzi, of the dreaming crazies.
Un'ideale e già volano via.
An ideal that is already flying away.
Ali dischiuse dal fango alle nuvole.
Wings uncovered from mud to clouds.
Angeli dagli amori così liberi,
Angels with such free loves.
Che non volendo si specchiano in Dio.
Who, unwillingly, reflect themselves in God.
Di là dal ponte, c'è una Roma a perdere.
Beyond the bridge, there is a Rome to lose.
E gli atti impuri, ormai non uccidono,
And impure acts no longer kill.
Un'innocenza già abortita al nascere.
An innocence already aborted at birth.
Dimmi che ancora sei qui,
Tell me that you are still here.
Che esiste un cielo, per il perdono,
That there is a sky for forgiveness.
E la violenza si fa pietà.
And violence becomes compassion.
E farsi male. E farsi male. E farsi male.
And hurting oneself. And hurting oneself. And hurting oneself.
Contributed by Sadie E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.