"Azzurro" (; ) is an Italian

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

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 ...

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 ...

and Michele Virano. 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..." ("Blue, the afternoon is too long and blue for me..."). Note that, in Italian, ''azzurro'' does not bear the negative connotation of "depressing" that ''blue'' has in English.

Charts

Certifications

Cover versions

The song was covered by numerous Italian singers, like Mina, Gianni Morandi and Fiorello. Even the

Italian football national team The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body ...

has sung the song on one occasion. German covers were done by Peter Rubin,

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 Gabinete Caligari is a Music of Spain, Spanish rock music, rock band part of ''La Movida Madrileña'' movement. It lasted from 1981 to 1999. Its name references the film ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari''. Its most famous songs are ''Cuatro rosas'' ...

. 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 Zdeněk is a Czech given name derived from the Latin name Sidonius. contested the relation with the Latin name, and an alternative etymology is a diminutive of Zdeslav.Jan Svoboda, Staročeská osobní jména se základem sd , sdě-, :Onomasti ...

). 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 "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

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, orange, pink and yellow.

Music video

The video was directed by Hanns Christian Müller. The band drives around Italy 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 pop songs Songs in Italian 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