''Il pescatore'' The fisherman"is a song by

Fabrizio De André Fabrizio Cristiano De André (; 18 February 1940 – 11 January 1999) was an Italian singer-songwriter, the most prominent ''cantautore'' of his time. His 40-year career reflects his interests in concept albums, literature, poetry, political pro ...

, with lyrics by himself and music by composers

Gian Piero Reverberi Gian Piero Reverberi (born 29 July 1939 in Genoa) is an Italian pianist, composer, arranger, conductor, and entrepreneur. Biography After obtaining Diplomas in piano and composition from the Paganini Conservatory in Genoa, Reverberi worked ...

and Franco Zauli. Backed with "Marcia nuziale", De André's translation of by

Georges Brassens Georges Charles Brassens (; 22 October 1921 – 29 October 1981) was a French singer-songwriter and poet. As an iconic figure in France, he achieved fame through his elegant songs with their harmonically complex music for voice and guitar and a ...

's 1957 song "La marche nuptiale", it was released in 1970 by the Italian branch of

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revival ...

as a standalone single, De André's first of only two such releases in his career. It was the first single of De André to enter the Italian singles chart, peaking at the 13th position. Its popularity was significantly boosted by a 1979 live remake, with PFM backing De André in a new rock arrangement.

Track listing

#"Il pescatore" (De André yrics

-Franco Zauli usic – 2:19 #"Marcia nuziale" (

; Italian lyrics by De André) – 3:10

The song

One of De André's narrative songs, typical of his early production, "Il pescatore" is about an elderly fisherman, whose peaceful slumber on the shore is interrupted by a convicted killer on the run, approaching him and waking him up, then asking him to break his bread and pour his wine (identifying the fisherman with a

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

-like figure through a passing mention of the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

). Not caring about who the man is but just about the fact that he is hungry and thirsty, the fisherman complies. Later, when two policemen arrive on the beach looking for the killer and wanting to interrogate the fisherman, they find out he has fallen asleep again.The ending lines of the song have also been interpreted to imply that the killer murdered the fisherman as well, in order to leave no witnesses behind; however, this is contradicted by the serene and joyful mood of the song, especially in its later arrangement. The original version of the song features a simple

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

arrangement, including two acoustic guitars, a double bass, a

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ...

, a whistled hook and no drums. The song was revolutionized and turned into a rousing rock anthem during the famous 1979 concerts held by De André in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

with the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band

Premiata Forneria Marconi Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) (translation: ''Award-winning Marconi Bakery'') is an Italian progressive rock band founded in 1970 which continues to the present day. They were the first Italian group to have success internationally. The group ...

, also known as PFM. The new version, mainly arranged by Franz Di Cioccio, features prominent keyboards, drums, percussion, electric guitars and a country

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

, played by

Lucio Fabbri Lucio Fabbri (born 25 March 1955) is an Italian composer, conductor, arranger, producer and multi-instrumentalist. Born in Crema, Lombardy, Fabbri graduated in violin and then in the early 1970s he was a member of the progressive rock groups Il ...

, while the whistled melody is joyously sung by the entire band as a "la-la-la" choir. This version is the one De André kept performing live until his very last show. Artists who recorded cover versions of the song include

Mia Martini Mia Martini (; born Domenica Rita Adriana Bertè ; 20 September 1947 – 12 May 1995) was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician.James Christopher MongerMia Martini allmusic.com Piero Pelù Pietro "Piero" Pelù (born 10 February 1962) is an Italian singer and songwriter, best known for his work with the Italian band Litfiba. He was born in Florence. In July 1999, Pelù quit Litfiba. In 2000, he released his first solo album ''Né ...

Fiorella Mannoia Fiorella Mannoia (; born 4 April 1954) is an Italian singer and songwriter. Biography The Beginning Fiorella Mannoia's father Luigi was an Italian film stuntman, and Fiorella, her brother Maurizio and sister Patrizia began work in this area a ...

(included in ''Fragile'', her 2001 album) and the Hong Kong singer

Albert Au Albert Au Shui Keung () is a Hong Kong English pop and Cantopop singer-songwriter and DJ of RTHK. Albert grew up in Hong Kong, and his ancestral hometown is Zhaoqing city, Guangdong province. A graduate of Hong Kong Baptist University, he debute ...

, who adapted the song in Chinese with the title ''Yīnwèi yǒu nǐ'' (''因为有你'', lit. "Because I have you").

Music video

A music video, directed by Stefano Salvati, was produced and released in 2017 for the original version of "Il pescatore". It is set in

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

in a contemporary context. It depicts the killer in the song as a (younger) fisherman himself, running from the police in order to reunite with his 10-year-old son; he keeps his crime hidden from the child, but the latter does find out the truth in the end.

Charts

Notes

References

External links

{{Fabrizio De André Fabrizio De André songs 1970 singles Italian songs 1970 songs