"Auschwitz" is a song composed by Francesco Guccini , and originally performed by Equipe 84. It was first released as the B-side of a cover of Sonny & Cher's "

Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" is the second single by American singer-actress Cher from her second album, ''The Sonny Side of Chér''. It was written by her husband Sonny Bono and released in 1966. The song reached No. 3 in the UK Singles C ...

", and later included in Equipe 84's album ''Io ho in mente te''. Although the song was written by Guccini it was credited to

Lunero Iller Pattacini (Barco di Bibbiano, 7 October 1933 – Barco, 3 September 2006), was an Italian composer of light music, arranger, band leader, and conductor. He worked as a house arranger for Ricordi and under the pen name Lunero penned songs suc ...

and

Maurizio Vandelli Maurizio Vandelli (born 9 August 1964 in Modena) is an Italian former cyclist. Palmares ;1985 :1st Stage 11 Vuelta al Tachira : 1st Coppa Collecchio ;1987 :3rd Giro del Veneto ;1988 :10th Overall Giro d'Italia ;1990 :1st Overall Ruota d'Oro ...

as the author at the time was not a member of the SIAE. The following year the song was later recorded by Francesco Guccini and included in his debut album '' Folk beat n. 1'', with the title "La canzone del bambino nel vento (Auschwitz)" ('The song of the child in the wind'). Guccini's authorship of the song was first acknowledged only in 1967, and officially recognized after a 30 years long trial.

Inspiration and content

"Auschwitz" was the first Italian song about

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. Guccini was inspired to compose the song after reading the Edward Russell's essay ''The Scourge of the swastika: A Short History of Nazi War Crimes'' (translated into Italian in 1955) and the autobiographical novel by

Vincenzo Pappalettera Vincenzo Pappalettera (November 28, 1919 in Milan – December 1, 1998 in Cesano Maderno) was an Italian writer and historian, notable for his firsthand account of his imprisonment in the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp during the Second Worl ...

'' Tu passerai per il camino''Vincenzo Pappalettera, ''Tu passerai per il cammino- Vita e morte a Mauthausen'', Milan, 1965 (''You Are Going Through the Chimney – Life and death at Mauthausen '') where Pappalettera recounted his memoirs about his imprisonment in the Mauthausen concentration camp. The song includes several citations of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's " Blowin' in the Wind". The lyrics are narrated by two voices: the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

, a child who in the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

"''died with another hundred, passed through a chimney and is now in the wind''", and the author, who poses some rhetoric questions to which there is no answer.

Track listing

*7" single – SRL 10-438 # "Bang bang" ( Sonny Bono –

Alessandro Colombini Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baricco ...

and

Miki Del Prete Michele "Miki" Del Prete (born 23 July 1935) is an Italian lyricist and record producer. Born in Bari, at young age he moved to Milan with his family, following the transfer of his father, a footballer, from A.S. Bari to Calcio Como. In the 1950s ...

) – 2:25 # "Auschwitz" (F. Guccini) – 3:47

Notable covers

* 1992:

Nomadi Nomadi (or I Nomadi, meaning "Nomads") is an Italian band formed in 1963 and still present on the music scene. Career Origins In 1961, Beppe Carletti and Leonardo Manfredini formed the group I Monelli (‘Urchins’). In 1962, Carletti met Franco ...

(album ''Ma che film la vita'') * 1994: Rod MacDonald, English version with the title "Auschwitz (Bambino nel Vento)" (album ''Man on the Ledge'') * 1997: (album ''Caro Bob Dylan...'') * 2003:

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

(album '' Viaggio in Italia'') * 2005:

Modena City Ramblers Modena City Ramblers (also known as M.C.R.) is an Italian folk rock band founded in 1991. Their music is heavily influenced by Celtic themes, and can be compared to folk rock music. The band has sold over 500,000 albums. Known for their left-wing ...

(album ''Appunti partigiani'') * 2013: (album ''Neve diventeremo'') * 2017:

Vittorio De Scalzi New Trolls are an Italian progressive rock band, known for their fusion of rock and classical music. In a way not too dissimilar from fellow prog-rock band Yes, their history is filled with line-up changes, spin-off projects and personal struggl ...

and Mauro Pagani (album ''Fra la via Aurelia e il West'') * 2019:

Elisa The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay uses a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence ...

(album ''Note di viaggio N. 1'')

References

{{Authority control 1966 singles Italian songs 1966 songs Songs about the Holocaust Anti-war songs Francesco Guccini songs Ricordi Dischi singles