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.
Danza Macabra
Renato Zero Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Questa vita, alza i tacchi e va via
Oh yes
E tu credi che, non ci sia più niente dopo di te
After you, dear
Quando, sarai, lassù, in the sky
Chi ti reclama più
Sarebbe life
Spiegaci perché noi siamo, pallidi e rigidi
Dicci come mai, noi siamo, gelidi e frigidi
È tutto un funerale
Le salme non si contano, più
C'è un traffico, di bare, sarcofagi
E fornetti, però, non so
Se devo, arrendermi, e accettare di spegnerm
Oh baby, vorrei godere almeno un po'
Spiegaci perché noi siamo, pallidi e rigidi
Dicci come mai, noi siamo, gelidi e frigidi
Essere o non essere
L'enigma non si scioglie mai
Amleto è già impazzito
Intorno a quel quesito
Ma poi chissà se siamo vivi noi
O siamo zombie ormai
Oh baby, che questo sia già l'aldilà, chissà
Noi qui, vaghiamo così
Sospesi fra nubi tossiche
Psicofarmaci e poi
Eccitanti se vuoi
Di noia si può morire, dottore?
Ci sei solo se hai
Una carta di credito
Un motore che va
Un po' di coca e chissà
Una donna che aspetta là e, non sa
Che tu hai già scelto lui
Candelotti, moccolotti, ceri
Ci vedo, ci vedo, ci vedo
È solo un sogno il mio
O questo scheletro sono io
Oh baby, almeno tu sei viva o no?
Noi qui che facciamo, noi qui
Sconvolti da mille incognite
Da isterismi e fobie
Contorsioni e manie
Aspettiamo il giudizio,
Che finisca sto strazio
Vorrei, ancora vorrei
Riscoprire che ho un'anima
Che so volare più su
Che posso dare di più
A questa vita che morirà
Se non ha chi la difenderà
Crisantemi, corone, cuscini, becchini
Non seppelliteci, riesumateci
Oh baby, noi siamo vivi più che mai
Siamo ancora vivi noi
Noi siamo ancora vivi
Siamo ancora qui
Questa storia non finisce così
This is not the end
Io mi spenderò
Fino all'ultima emozione che ho
Vivrò
I'm living
Pensando ai feretri
E a voi, cari scheletri
Scherzando e ridendo
The time, il tempo
Se ne va
The lyrics of Renato Zero's song "Danza Macabra" express the angst of modern society, where people try to ignore the inevitability of their own mortality. The opening lines, "Fra un sorriso, e una bugia, Questa vita, alza i tacchi e va via" (Between a smile and a lie, this life takes off and goes away), highlight the fleeting nature of life and how people try to hide behind facades. The chorus asks, "Spiegaci perché noi siamo, pallidi e rigidi, Dicci come mai, noi siamo, gelidi e frigidi" (Explain to us why we are pale and rigid, tell us why we are cold and frigid), emphasizing the disconnect that people feel from their own emotions and from each other.
The later verses pose existential questions, wondering if we are truly alive or merely zombies going through the motions of life. The lyrics delve into the struggles of modern living, where people chase materialistic desires like money, drugs, and sex, just to numb their own pain and despair. The song ends on a positive note, with the singer determined to live life to the fullest and find meaning in living instead of being afraid to die.
Line by Line Meaning
Fra un sorriso, e una bugia
Between a smile and a lie
Questa vita, alza i tacchi e va via
This life raises its heels and goes away
Oh yes
Oh yes
E tu credi che, non ci sia più niente dopo di te
And you believe that, there is nothing left after you
After you, dear
After you, dear
Quando, sarai, lassù, in the sky
When you will be up there, in the sky
Chi ti reclama più
Who will claim you anymore
Oh baby, chissà se siamo vivi?
Oh baby, who knows if we are alive?
Sarebbe life
It would be life
Spiegaci perché noi siamo, pallidi e rigidi
Explain us why we are, pale and rigid
Dicci come mai, noi siamo, gelidi e frigidi
Tell us why we are, icy and cold
È tutto un funerale
It's all a funeral
Le salme non si contano, più
The corpses can't be counted anymore
C'è un traffico, di bare, sarcofagi
There is a traffic of coffins, sarcophaguses
E fornetti, però, non so
And small ovens, but I don't know
Se devo, arrendermi, e accettare di spegnerm
If I have to give up and accept to turn off
Oh baby, vorrei godere almeno un po'
Oh baby, I would like to enjoy at least a bit
Essere o non essere
To be or not to be
L'enigma non si scioglie mai
The enigma is never solved
Amleto è già impazzito
Hamlet is already crazy
Intorno a quel quesito
Around that question
Ma poi chissà se siamo vivi noi
But who knows if we are alive
O siamo zombie ormai
Or if we are already zombies
Oh baby, che questo sia già l'aldilà, chissà
Oh baby, that this is already the afterlife, who knows
Noi qui, vaghiamo così
We wander here like this
Sospesi fra nubi tossiche
Suspended among toxic clouds
Psicofarmaci e poi
Psychotropic drugs and then
Eccitanti se vuoi
If you want to be excited
Di noia si può morire, dottore?
Can you die of boredom, doctor?
Ci sei solo se hai
You exist only if you have
Una carta di credito
A credit card
Un motore che va
An engine that works
Un po' di coca e chissà
A bit of coke and who knows
Una donna che aspetta là e, non sa
A woman who is waiting there and, doesn't know
Che tu hai già scelto lui
That you have already chosen him
Candelotti, moccolotti, ceri
Little candles, big candles, candles
Ci vedo, ci vedo, ci vedo
I see it, I see it, I see it
È solo un sogno il mio
It's only my dream
O questo scheletro sono io
Or this skeleton is me
Oh baby, almeno tu sei viva o no?
Oh baby, at least are you alive or not?
Noi qui che facciamo, noi qui
What are we doing here, we are here
Sconvolti da mille incognite
Upset by a thousand uncertainties
Da isterismi e fobie
By hysterias and phobias
Contorsioni e manie
Contortions and manias
Aspettiamo il giudizio,
We wait for the judgment,
Che finisca sto strazio
That this torment ends
Vorrei, ancora vorrei
I would like, I would still
Riscoprire che ho un'anima
Rediscover that I have a soul
Che so volare più su
That I can fly higher
Che posso dare di più
That I can give more
A questa vita che morirà
To this life that will die
Se non ha chi la difenderà
If there is no one who will defend it
Crisantemi, corone, cuscini, becchini
Chrysanthemums, crowns, cushions, undertakers
Non seppelliteci, riesumateci
Don't bury us, exhume us
Oh baby, noi siamo vivi più che mai
Oh baby, we are more alive than ever
Siamo ancora vivi noi
We are still alive
Noi siamo ancora vivi
We are still alive
Siamo ancora qui
We are still here
Questa storia non finisce così
This story doesn't end like this
This is not the end
This is not the end
Io mi spenderò
I will spend myself
Fino all'ultima emozione che ho
Until the last emotion that I have
Vivrò
I'm living
Pensando ai feretri
Thinking about coffins
E a voi, cari scheletri
And to you, dear skeletons
Scherzando e ridendo
Joking and laughing
The time, il tempo
The time, il tempo
Se ne va
It goes away
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Roberto Conrado, Renato Zero
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind