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"Azzurro" is an Italian pop song composed by
Paolo Conte Paolo Conte (; born 6 January 1937) is an Italian singer, pianist, songwriter and lawyer known for his distinctly grainy, resonant voice. His compositions fuse Italian and Mediterranean sounds with jazz, boogie and elements of the French and L ...
and
Vito Pallavicini Vito Pallavicini (22 April 1924 – 16 August 2007) was an Italian lyricist. Born in Vigevano, he wrote numerous songs, during his career for Adriano Celentano (''Azzurro''), Caterina Caselli (''Insieme a te non ci sto più "Insieme a te non ...
. Its most famous version was recorded by
Adriano Celentano Adriano Celentano (; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian musician, singer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is dubbed "''il Molleggiato''" (the springy one) because of his dancing. Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both commercial and ...
in 1968.


Background

Conte and Pallavicini wrote "Azzurro" especially for Celentano. The song describes a lonely summer in the city. Structurally it typically reflects Conte's writing style, combining simple and catchy melodies with unusual elements, like the military march music bit in the middle. Conte would record the song himself in 1985, ten years into his own solo career as a performer. Together with "Via con me" and "Sotto le stelle del Jazz", it is now one of his most popular songs.


Lyrics

The first line of the chorus goes: "Azzurro, il pomeriggio è troppo azzurro e lungo per me . . ."Peter Benjaminson The Story of Motown 1979 -- Page 306"The first line of the song goes: "Azzurro, il pomeriggio e troppo azzurro e lungo per me . . ." — Blue, the afternoon is too long and blue for me . . . ("blue," has no negative connotations of the depressing variety clouding the ..." (Blue, the afternoon is too long and blue for me...)


Charts


Certifications


Cover versions

The song was covered by numerous Italian singers, like Mina,
Gianni Morandi Gianni Morandi (; born 11 December 1944) is an Italian pop singer, actor and entertainer. Early life Gian Luigi Morandi was born in a little village called Monghidoro on the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. His father Renato was active within the I ...
and Fiorello. Even the Italian football national team has sung the song on one occasion. German covers were done by
Peter Rubin Sir Peter Charles Rubin (born 21 November 1948) is a doctor and was the Chair of the General Medical Council (GMC) of the United Kingdom from 2009–2014. A consultant physician and professor of therapeutics at the University of Nottingham sinc ...
,
Die Toten Hosen Die Toten Hosen (literally "The Dead Trousers", figuratively "The Deadbeats") is a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf. History The current members of Die Toten Hosen are Campino (Andreas Frege), Kuddel (Andreas von Holst), Vom (Stephe ...
,
Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to: * Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player * Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...
and Rummelsnuff. French cover by
Régine Regine () or Régine is a feminine given name. Regine is a German-French form of Regina, and Régine is a French form of Regina. People with the first name include: Regine * Regine Heitzer (born 1944), Austrian figure skater * Regine Hildebrandt ...
. Spanish cover by Gabinete Caligari. Czech cover by
Waldemar Matuška Waldemar Matuška (; July 2, 1932 – May 30, 2009) was a Czechoslovak singer who became popular in his homeland during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1986, he immigrated to the United States. Early career Waldemar Matuška was born in Košice, Czech ...
, (lyrics by Zdeněk Borovec). Hungarian cover by László Aradszky (lyrics by Kálmán Vándor). In the
2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix The 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2020) was a Formula One motor race held on 13 December 2020 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The race was the seven ...
, German F1 driver
Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Red Bull, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in Formula One ...
sang a farewell song to his Ferrari team after the final race for them, which was based on the song.


Arik Einstein cover

In Israel, it is a famous song known for its Hebrew version by
Arik Einstein Arieh Lieb "Arik" Einstein ( he, אָרִיק אַייְנְשְׁטֵייְן, ; 3 January 1939 – 26 November 2013) was an Israeli singer, actor, comedian and screenwriter. He was a pioneer of Israeli rock music and was named "the voice of Is ...
"Amru Lo" (Hebrew: "They told him..."). The lyrics, by prominent Israeli songwriter
Eli Mohar Eli Mohar ( he, עלי מוהר; December 30, 1948 – November 30, 2006) was an Israeli songwriter and columnist. Biography Eli Mohar was born in Tel Aviv. His father was Yechiel Mohar. He was a member of HaMahanot HaOlim youth movement and stu ...
, do not feature a translation of the original lyrics; Instead, the Hebrew version humorously tells the life story of a youngster who chooses a precarious career as an artist and becomes a fan of an underdog sports team, despite having always been told to "choose the correct path in life" - a reference to Arik Einstein's own life story.


Die Toten Hosen cover

"Azzurro" (on many releases mistitled "Azzuro") was covered by
Die Toten Hosen Die Toten Hosen (literally "The Dead Trousers", figuratively "The Deadbeats") is a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf. History The current members of Die Toten Hosen are Campino (Andreas Frege), Kuddel (Andreas von Holst), Vom (Stephe ...
for the album '' Auf dem Kreuzzug ins Glück'' as a tribute to
1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being Me ...
. The single was released with differently coloured covers:
green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
,
orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...
,
pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
and
yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the R ...
.


Music video

The video was directed by
Hanns Christian Müller Hanns is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Hanns Blaschke (1896–1971), Austrian politician *Hanns Bolz (1885–1918), German expressionist and cubist painter *Hanns Brandstätter (born 1949), Austrian fencer * Hanns Braun (18 ...
. The band drives around
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
in an
Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...
, having to push-start it every time. In the end it gets stolen right before them.


Track listing

# "Azzurro" (Conte, Virano/Conte, Pallavicini) − 2:32 # "Herzlichen Glückwunsch" (''Sincere congratulation'') (v. Holst/Frege) – 2:03 # "Dr. Sommer" (''Dr. Summer'') (Breitkopf/Frege) – 1:57 # "Feinde" (''Enemies'') (Frege/Frege) – 2:20


Charts


References

{{Authority control 1990 singles Italian songs Die Toten Hosen songs Adriano Celentano songs Songs with lyrics by Vito Pallavicini 1968 songs Virgin Records singles Number-one singles in Italy Songs with music by Paolo Conte