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
Mis Manos en tu Cintura
Salvatore Adamo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
si escuchas de mis quince años el cantar
Y ausente estes de las cosas que
mi adolescencia fue a soñar
Capricho fue que sin querer
ya preparaba este amor
Por eso así yo te lo cuento
y te lo canto a media voz
y te lo canto a media voz
Y mis manos en tu cintura
pero mírame con dulzor
porque tendrás la aventura
de ser tu mi mejor canción
En chicas que yo conocí
ya un algo tuyo yo busqué
Y cuando al fin yo te hallé
en tu besar ya pude comprender
que eras tú la fábula
que iluminaba mi soñar
Mas este amor es una pena
que siendo hermoso tenga un final
Mas este amor es una pena
que siendo hermoso tenga un final
Y mis manos en tu cintura
pero mírame con dulzor
porque tendrás la aventura
de ser tu mi mejor canción
Y mis manos en tu cintura
pero mírame con dulzor
porque tendrás la aventura
de ser tu mi mejor canción
The lyrics of Salvatore Adamo's song "Mis Manos en tu Cintura" talk about the experience of teenage love and the bittersweet nature of it. The first few lines of the song assure the listener that they do not have to suffer if they listen to the singer's tale of his adolescent love. He talks about the dreams he had as a teenager, and how he unknowingly prepared for this love. The singer acknowledges that this love may have been just a whim, but he still sings about it with a half-voice, indicating that it was still an important moment in his life.
The chorus of the song is a beautiful image of the singer's hands on the girl's waist. He asks her to look at him with sweetness because she will have the adventure of being his best song. The second verse explains that the singer had been looking for something in the girls he knew, and when he found this girl, he knew that she was the one he had been searching for. He came to understand what love truly meant when he kissed her. However, the singer knows that this love cannot last forever and it pains him.
Overall, the song is about experiencing the first love of a teenager, the excitement, the joy, the passion, and the pain. It is about remembering a time when love was pure and innocent, and how it shaped the person the singer has become.
Line by Line Meaning
No has de sufrir si escuchas de mis quince años el cantar
Do not worry if you hear about my singing when I was fifteen years old.
Y ausente estes de las cosas que mi adolescencia fue a soñar
Even if you were absent from the things I dreamt about during my adolescence.
Capricho fue que sin querer ya preparaba este amor
It was by chance that I, unknowingly, was preparing for this love.
Por eso así yo te lo cuento y te lo canto a media voz
That's why I am telling you and singing it to you softly.
Y mis manos en tu cintura pero mírame con dulzor porque tendrás la aventura de ser tu mi mejor canción
My hands on your waist, but look at me with sweetness because you will have the adventure of being my best song.
En chicas que yo conocí ya un algo tuyo yo busqué
In the girls that I met, I was looking for something like you.
Y cuando al fin yo te hallé en tu besar ya pude comprender que eras tú la fábula que iluminaba mi soñar
And when I finally found you and kissed you, I understood that you were the myth that lit up my dreams.
Mas este amor es una pena que siendo hermoso tenga un final
But this love is a sorrowful thing that, even though it is beautiful, will come to an end.
Y mis manos en tu cintura pero mírame con dulzor porque tendrás la aventura de ser tu mi mejor canción
My hands on your waist, but look at me with sweetness because you will have the adventure of being my best song.
Mas este amor es una pena que siendo hermoso tenga un final
But this love is a sorrowful thing that, even though it is beautiful, will come to an end.
Y mis manos en tu cintura pero mírame con dulzor porque tendrás la aventura de ser tu mi mejor canción
My hands on your waist, but look at me with sweetness because you will have the adventure of being my best song.
Contributed by Alyssa L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.