Adamo is one of the most commercially successful singers in Europe. Adamo has sold over 80 million copies of his albums worldwide. He is currently living in Belgium though he has lived in France with his family. His hits include "Tombe la Neige", "Vous permettez, Monsieur?" and "Inch'Allah", all from the sixties.
Adamo's early influences were the poetry of Victor Hugo, the music of French crooners such as Jacques Prévert or Georges Brassens, and the Italian canzonette. He started singing and composing his own songs from an early age. His debut was in a Radio Luxembourg competition, where he participated as singer and composer of the song "Si j'osais" ("If I dared") winning the competition's final held in Paris, in 14 February 1960.
Adamo's first hit was "Sans toi, ma mie", in 1963, from his debut album 63/64. He followed this with a series of hits, "Tombe la neige" ("The snow falls"), "Vous permettez, Monsieur?" ("May I, Sir"), "La Nuit" ("The Night") (1964), "Dolce Paola" ("Sweet Paola"), "Les Filles du bord de mer" ("The girls at the beach"), "Mes mains sur tes hanches" ("My hands on your hips") (1965), "Ton Nom" ("Your Name"), "Une meche de cheveux" ("Lock of golden hair") (1966), "Une larme aux nuages" ("A tear to the clouds"), "Inch'Allah" (1967), "L'amour te ressemble" ("Love resembles you"), "F... comme femme" ("F... like woman") (1968), "A demain sur la lune" ("See you tomorrow on the moon"), "Petit bonheur" ("Small happiness") (1969), "Va mon bateau" ("My boat goes"), "Les belles dames" ("Beautiful ladies") (1970), "J'avais oublié que les roses sont roses" ("I had forgotten that the roses are pink") (1971), "C'est ma vie" ("It's my life") (1975). Other notable songs included "Manuel", "Si Tu Etais", "Les Collines De Rabiah", "J'Te Lache Plus", "Mourir Dans Tes Bras", and "Ce George(s)".
The self-penned "Petit bonheur" sold over one million copies by April 1970, and was awarded a gold disc.
Amália Rodrigues recorded "Inch'Allah" in French. Adamo briefly attempted movie acting when he was cast in the film Les Arnaud (1967), which starred Bourvil.
He has recorded in many languages and, besides France and Belgium, had hits in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and also in Japan, where he toured repeatedly. Adamo has had hits and toured also in Latin America. In Chile, the audience awarded him an appreciation prize known as the "Antorcha" (Gold and Silver Torch) at the "Festival de Viña del Mar" held yearly in the "Quinta Vergara", at the seaside resort of Viña del Mar, where he once had to sing in three different, sold-out venues in the same night.
In the 1980s, Adamo's career faltered, as the style of his music was no longer fashionable. Since the 1990s, however, and on the crest of a nostalgia wave, Adamo has successfully resumed composing, issuing records and touring, starting with a full season at the Casino de Paris venue in April 1990. Adamo has sold over 100 million copies of recordings worldwide.
Albums
* 1992 Rêveur de fond
* 1994 C’est ma vie (compilation Live)
* 1995 La vie comme elle passe
* 1998 Regards
* 2001 Par les temps qui courent
* 2002 Les mots de l’âme (compilation)
* 2003 Zanzibar
* 2004 Un soir au Zanzibar (CD/DVD compilation Live)
* 2007 La part de l'ange
Com'ero vecchio
Salvatore Adamo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nemmeno nello specchio mi riconosco più
Dio com'ero grigio senza i tuoi colori
E successo quel prodigio che si chiama amore
Seduto in ufficio col colletto inamidato
Dietro le sbarre del mio bel vestito rigato
Respiravo appena e per poco ci sarei rimasto
Ma tu sei venuta un sorriso e mi ai liberato
Nemmeno nello specchio mi riconosco più
Dio com'ero grigio senza i tuoi colori
E successo quel prodigio che si chiama amore
Mi facevo piccolo per non disturbare la gente
Lasciavo lo spazio a chi si credeva importante
E tutti i miei sogni gli schieravo nella mia mente
Ma oggi mi ami e di colpo mi sento un gigante
Dio com'ero vecchio quando non ceri tu
Nemmeno nello specchio mi riconosco più
Dio com'ero grigio senza i tuoi colori
E successo quel prodigio che si chiama amore
Dio com'ero vecchio quando non ceri tu
Nemmeno nello specchio mi riconosco più
Dio com'ero grigio senza i tuoi colori
E successo quel prodigio che si chiama amore
The lyrics of Salvatore Adamo's song "Com'ero vecchio" describe the transformative power of love in the singer's life. At the beginning of the song, the singer reflects on how he used to feel old and unrecognizable without the presence of the person he loves. He compares himself to a colorless, gray version of himself before love came into his life. However, the singer's life changed when his significant other entered the picture. One day, while he was sitting in his office, suffocating under the weight of societal pressures, the person who would later become his lover appeared and saved him with just a smile.
Through love, the singer feels like a giant, and all the dreams he used to shelve because he used to indulge other people's egos, are now possible. He acknowledges feeling small before he met his lover, but now he feels like he has the strength to pursue his dreams. The song's overall message is that love can be a transformative power capable of bringing joy and happiness into one's life, removing sadness and loneliness, and making everything seem possible.
Line by Line Meaning
Dio com'ero vecchio quando non ceri tu
Oh my God how old I was when you weren't there
Nemmeno nello specchio mi riconosco più
I don't even recognize myself in the mirror anymore
Dio com'ero grigio senza i tuoi colori
Oh my God how gray I was without your colors
E successo quel prodigio che si chiama amore
And that miracle called love happened
Seduto in ufficio col colletto inamidato
Sitting in the office with a stiff collar
Dietro le sbarre del mio bel vestito rigato
Behind the bars of my beautiful striped suit
Respiravo appena e per poco ci sarei rimasto
I was barely breathing and it wouldn't have lasted long
Ma tu sei venuta un sorriso e mi hai liberato
But then you came, with a smile and you freed me
Mi facevo piccolo per non disturbare la gente
I used to make myself small so as not to bother people
Lasciavo lo spazio a chi si credeva importante
I made space for those who believed themselves important
E tutti i miei sogni gli schieravo nella mia mente
And I lined up all my dreams in my mind
Ma oggi mi ami e di colpo mi sento un gigante
But now you love me, and suddenly I feel like a giant
Contributed by Parker Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ippolita Sergi
Grazie, grazie Adamo!Sei un vero prodigio .Con le tue canzoni dai colore alla vita ,ai sentimenti e in particolar modo all'amore.
Marama o
La vita è più bella se ascolti le canzoni di Adamo, scaldano il cuore e ti entrano nell'anima. 💕
Gullo Gaetano
Adamo filosofo di vita, poeta d'amore. Un grande del nostro tempo. 👏👏👍
Gladys Soriano
Maravilloso !!!🌻🌺🦋
Bastien Josepha
Magnifique, sublime chanson grande salvatore ... j,adore ..éternellement 🦋🦋🥰
tonino maiellaro
grande ADAMO hai rallegrato la nostra vita con le tue canzoni grazie
Giovanni Luigi Loi
.mitico Salvatore.....le tue sono storie di vita trasformate in poemi ...fenomenali....Non mi stanco mai di riascoltarli👍👍👍..
Vito Brunetto
Un grande Italiano,molto semplice e umile
enza terranova
BEN DETTO....È RIMASTO UMILE E LEGATO ALLA SUA TERRA
Gladys Soriano
otras maravilla de canción de mi adorado Salvatore 🌻