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.
Mi vendo
Renato Zero Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Smonto la baracca e via
Cambio zona, itinerario
Il mio indirizzo è la follia
C'è un infelice, ovunque vai
Voglio allargare il giro dei clienti miei
Io vendo desideri e speranze
In confezione spray
Seguimi, io sono la notte
Il mistero, l'ambiguità
Io creo gli incontri, io sono la sorte
Quell'attimo di vanità
Incredibile, se vuoi
Seguimi e non ti pentirai
Sono io la chiave dei tuoi problemi
Guarisco i tuoi mali, vedrai
Mi vendo
La grinta che non hai
In cambio del tuo inferno
Ti do due ali, sai
Mi vendo
Un'altra identità
Ti do quello che il mondo
Distratto non ti da
Te lo vendo, e già
A buon prezzo, si sa
Ho smarrito un giorno il mio circo
Ma il circo vive senza di me
Non è l'anima tua che io cerco
Io sono solo più di te
Nell'arco di una luna io
Farò di te un baro oppure un re
Sono io la chiave dei tuoi problemi
Guarisco i tuoi mali, vedrai
Mi vendo
La grinta che non hai
In cambio del tuo inferno
Ti do due ali, sai
Oh no, no (oh no, no)
Mi vendo, na, na, na, na, na
La mia felicità
Ti do quello che il mondo
Distratto non ti da
Io mi vendo, eh già
A buon prezzo, si sa
No, no
Mi vendo
(Seguimi)
Mi vendo
La grinta che non hai
In cambio del tuo inferno
Ti do due ali, sai
No, no, no, no, no, no
Ti vendo
Un'altra identità
Ti do quello che il mondo
Distratto non ti da
(Seguimi) Oh no, no
(Seguimi)
Mi vendo, eh già
The song "Mi Vendo" by Renato Zero tells the story of a character who is the personification of the night - mysterious, ambiguous, and capable of creating chance encounters that can change people's lives. The singer introduces himself as a seller of desires and hopes that come in spray bottles, offering them to everyone he meets, promising to be the key to their problems and their cure. He moves quickly, changing addresses frequently and dismantling the "shack" wherever he goes, always looking for new customers to sell his products.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "Mi Vendo," which can be translated as "I sell myself" or "I am selling myself," implying that the character is not only selling his products but also his persona. He offers to trade the "grit" that one lacks in exchange for two wings, a metaphor for liberation and the attainment of dreams. He promises to provide an alternative identity, what the world neglects to give to people, and at a good price, as "you know."
The singer does not seek the soul of the person he addresses but promises rather to make them a cheat or a king under the light of a single moon. The song suggests that Renato Zero criticizes the commercialization of desires and promises in Italy in the late 1970s, as the character’s seductive wares represent a sort of escape from the general sense of decay and disappointment in the country.
Line by Line Meaning
Faccio in fretta un altro inventario
I quickly take stock of my life, disassemble my current situation and move on to a new one, embracing the crazy path I take.
Cambio zona, itinerario
I change my surroundings and route, always moving towards the unknown.
Il mio indirizzo è la follia
My destination is madness.
C'è un infelice, ovunque vai
Everywhere you go there is someone unhappy, but I want to expand my clientele.
Voglio allargare il giro dei clienti miei
I want to broaden my audience, selling hopes and dreams in a spray can.
Io vendo desideri e speranze
I sell desires and hopes in a packaged form.
Seguimi, io sono la notte
Follow me, I am the night.
Il mistero, l'ambiguità
I am mystery, ambiguity.
Io creo gli incontri, io sono la sorte
I create meetings, I am fate.
Quell'attimo di vanità
That moment of vanity.
Incredibile, se vuoi
Unbelievable, if you want.
Seguimi e non ti pentirai
Follow me and you won't regret it.
Sono io la chiave dei tuoi problemi
I am the key to your problems.
Guarisco i tuoi mali, vedrai
You will see that I can heal your wounds.
Mi vendo
I sell myself.
La grinta che non hai
The determination you lack.
In cambio del tuo inferno
In exchange for your hellish life.
Ti do due ali, sai
I give you wings, you know.
Un'altra identità
Another identity.
Ti do quello che il mondo / Distratto non ti da
I give you what the distracted world cannot.
Te lo vendo, e già
I sell it to you, and that's that.
Ho smarrito un giorno il mio circo
One day I lost my circus, my sense of direction.
Ma il circo vive senza di me
But the circus goes on without me.
Non è l'anima tua che io cerco
I am not looking for your soul.
Io sono solo più di te
I am simply more than you.
Nell'arco di una luna io / Farò di te un baro oppure un re
Within the span of a moon cycle, I will make you a cheat or a king.
No, no
No, no.
(Seguimi)
(Follow me).
(Na, na, na, na, na)
(Na, na, na, na, na).
Ti vendo
I sell to you.
(Oh no, no)
(Oh no, no).
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Renato Fiacchini, Mario Vicari
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jazzy Fabbry
Senza dubbio il più grande artista italiano, o quantomeno uno dei più bravi.
Capacità compositiva eccelsa.
Sound ancora attuale, e fantastico da suonare.
Vito Mancusi
il più grande è Lucio Battisti. Ma Renato Zero è uno dei più grandi sicuramente.
Manu
Il più grande no
Jules De Biasio
io vado sempre a vedere Max pianta quando e' in zona per "saldare" quel debito con Renato
Jazzy Fabbry
Mi piace talmente tanto questa canzone, che ho fatto una cover come tributo...
Marco Adami
Da canzoni come questa e come il triangolo si capisce la genialità e l'intelligenza di una persona che ha saputo fare dell'ambiguità il suo punto di forza. Solo un vero artista poteva riuscirci. Inimitabile.
giancarlo de carolis
Signori e signore :renato zero.
Simply the best.
Da ascoltare a ogni età. E come una droga. Cominci ad ascoltarlo e non smetteresti piu'. Ed è nostro ragazzi. Uno dei pochi orgogli Italiani.
maria grazia bentivegna
;:;:;:;:;:
Raffaella Gattoni
APPUNTOO
giovanni corallo
@Nicolò Arena HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH