Granata was born in Figline Vegliaturo, Calabria, southern Italy; but his parents immigrated to Belgium when he was ten. Rocco's father was a coal miner, but after briefly working in the coal mines, Granata pursued music instead. He played accordion and toured Belgium with his band, "The International Quintet". He then released the song "Manuela" b/w "Marina" as a single in 1959; the B-side became an international smash hit, hitting #1 in Belgium as well as charting across Europe and in America. The song went on to sell tens of millions of copies worldwide, and has been covered many times by artists such as Marino Marini, Dalida and Louis Armstrong.
After the success of "Marina", Granata toured the world, including dates at Carnegie Hall. A feature film entitled Marina was released in 1960, which set the stage for a string of German hits from Granata. He also appeared in Italy at the Sanremo Festival in 1961.
Granata later became a successful record producer. He owned the labels Cardinal Records and Granata Records, and has produced artists such as Marva, Louis Neefs, Miel Cools, De Elegasten, and others.
In 1989, Granata commissioned a dance remix of Marina, which again topped the Belgian charts as well as those of Italy and Germany.
Granata has appeared regularly on Belgian television, and served as a jury member for the 2002 Flemish preliminaries for the Eurovision Song Contest. In March 2000 he was awarded the ZAMU Lifetime Achievement Award by the Belgian music industry.
Granata has released some 65 albums over the course of his career
L'Italiano
Rocco Granata Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lasciate mi cantare
con la chitarra in mano
lasciate mi cantare
sono l'italiano
Buon giorno Italia gli spaghetti al dente
e un partigiano come Presidente
con l'autoradio sempre nella mano destra
Buon giorno Italia con I tuoi artisti
con troppa America sui manifesti
con le canzoni con amore
con il cuore
con più donne sempre meno suore
Buon giorno Italia
Buon giorno Maria
con gli occhi pieni di malinconia
Buon giorno Dio
lo sai che ci sono anch'io
Lasciate mi cantare
con la chitarra in mano
lasciatemi cantare
una canzone piano piano
Lasciate mi cantare
perché ne sono fiero
sono l'italiano
l'italiano vero
Buon giorno Italia che non si spaventa
e con la crema da barba alla menta
con un vestito gessato sul blu
e la moviola la domenica in TV
Buon giorno Italia col caffe' ristretto
le calze nuove nel primo cassetto
con la bandiera in tintoria
e una seisciento giù di carrozzeria
Buon giorno Italia
Buon giorno Maria
con gli occhi pieni di malinconia
buon giorno Dio
lo sai che ci sono anch'io
Lasciate mi cantare
con la chitarra in mano
lasciate mi cantare
una canzone piano piano
Lasciate mi cantare
perché ne sono fiero
sono l'italiano
l'italiano vero.
The lyrics of Rocco Granata’s song L'Italiano are a proud declaration of the singer's Italian identity. The song begins with the singer requesting his audience to let him sing with a guitar in his hand because he is the true Italian. He then proceeds to greet Italy in his own unique way, addressing the country by mentioning its famous dish - spaghetti al dente. He further describes Italy as a nation with a partisan president and people who love their car radio and canaries. Rocco Granata is proud to be Italian and does not shy away from showing it in his lyrics.
In the second verse, he talks about Italy’s fashion sense, sports enthusiasm, love for coffee, and the national flag, which ironically does not escape the local tintoria. He again greets Maria, Dio, and adds that he, too, exists in the country where he is an Italian. The chorus then repeats itself twice, with Rocco Granata asking his audience to let him sing because he is proud to be himself; an Italian. These lyrics have become a national anthem of sorts for Italian expats, who take pride in identifying themselves as Italians.
Line by Line Meaning
Lasciate mi cantare
Let me sing
con la chitarra in mano
with the guitar in my hand
lasciate mi cantare
let me sing
sono l'italiano
I am Italian
Buon giorno Italia gli spaghetti al dente
Good day Italy, al dente spaghetti
e un partigiano come Presidente
and a partisan as President
con l'autoradio sempre nella mano destra
with the car radio always in the right hand
e un canarino sopra la finestra
and a canary above the window
Buon giorno Italia con I tuoi artisti
Good day Italy with your artists
con troppa America sui manifesti
with too much America on the posters
con le canzoni con amore
with the love songs
con il cuore
with the heart
con più donne sempre meno suore
with more women and fewer nuns
Buon giorno Italia
Good day Italy
Buon giorno Maria
Good day Maria
con gli occhi pieni di malinconia
with eyes full of melancholy
Buon giorno Dio
Good day God
lo sai che ci sono anch'io
you know that I am here too
Lasciate mi cantare
Let me sing
con la chitarra in mano
with the guitar in my hand
lasciatemi cantare
let me sing
una canzone piano piano
a slow song
Lasciate mi cantare
Let me sing
perché ne sono fiero
because I am proud of it
sono l'italiano
I am Italian
l'italiano vero
the true Italian
Buon giorno Italia che non si spaventa
Good day Italy that is not afraid
e con la crema da barba alla menta
and with mint shaving cream
con un vestito gessato sul blu
with a pinstripe suit in blue
e la moviola la domenica in TV
and the slow motion on Sundays on TV
Buon giorno Italia col caffe' ristretto
Good day Italy with espresso coffee
le calze nuove nel primo cassetto
new stockings in the first drawer
con la bandiera in tintoria
with the flag at the dry cleaners
e una seisciento giù di carrozzeria
and a Fiat 600 with a new body
Buon giorno Italia
Good day Italy
Buon giorno Maria
Good day Maria
con gli occhi pieni di malinconia
with eyes full of melancholy
buon giorno Dio
Good day God
lo sai che ci sono anch'io
you know that I am here too
Lasciate mi cantare
Let me sing
con la chitarra in mano
with the guitar in my hand
lasciate mi cantare
let me sing
una canzone piano piano
a slow song
Lasciate mi cantare
Let me sing
perché ne sono fiero
because I am proud of it
sono l'italiano
I am Italian
l'italiano vero
the true Italian
Writer(s): Salvatore Cutugno, Cristiano Minellono
Contributed by Josiah F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.