''Crêuza de mä'' (; "Muletrack by the sea") is the eleventh studio album 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 pr ...
Mauro Pagani
Mauro Pagani (born 5 February 1946) is an Italian musician and singer.
Pagani was born in Chiari, Lombardy. A multi-instrumentalist, he made his debut in the music world in 1970 as violinist and founding member of the progressive rock band Pre ...
, with all lyrics by the former and music mostly by the latter; in a 2011 interview within the documentary DVD series '' Dentro Faber'' ("Inside Faber" .e. De André, about De André's life and works, Pagani stated that his job on the album was to create melodies and arrangements for De André's already complete lyrics, on the basis of some "over-simplified" melodic ideas by the Genoese songwriter. Halfway through the album sessions, responding to Pagani's repeated concerns that the lyrics would be incomprehensible outside of Genoa, De André reassured his friend by telling him that his music was so good that even
Sicilians
Sicilians or the Sicilian people are a Romance speaking people who are indigenous to the island of Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the largest and most populous of the autonomous regions of Italy.
Origin and i ...
would get the meaning of the songs without understanding a single word. However, full Italian translations of the lyrics (by De André himself) were included in the album's liner notes.
The album was seen by Italian reviewers at the time as a milestone of Eighties music and of world music in general. David Byrne, talking to ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'', named the album as one of the most important releases of the decade, and the Italian edition of ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it fourth in its 2012 "List of the 100 Best-Ever Italian Albums", published on its 100th Italian issue.
Track listing
All lyrics by Fabrizio De André; music by
Mauro Pagani
Mauro Pagani (born 5 February 1946) is an Italian musician and singer.
Pagani was born in Chiari, Lombardy. A multi-instrumentalist, he made his debut in the music world in 1970 as violinist and founding member of the progressive rock band Pre ...
and Fabrizio De André, except as noted below.
# Crêuza de mä ("Muletrack by the sea") – 6:16
# Jamin-a ("Jamina", an Arabic female name) – 4:52
# Sidún (i.e.
Sidon
Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...
, in
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
) – 6:25
# Sinàn Capudàn Pascià ("Sinàn Captain Pasha") – 5:32
# 'Â pittima ("The flea", a derogatory nickname for a tax revenue officer) – 3:43
# 'Â duménega ("On Sunday") – 3:40 (De André yrics Pagani usic
# D'ä mê riva ("From my shore") – 3:04
The songs
With the notable exceptions of "Jamin-a", inspired by De André and Pagani's then-recent trips to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
, and "Sidún", focusing on the 1982 Lebanon war, all songs are about
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
. In particular:
* "Crêuza de mä" is about the hard working life of sailors and fishermen in Genoa, but also displays their serene mood when gathering together for dinner. The lyrics mention various traditional Genoan dishes (as well as some unrealistic, invented ones), which are allegedly served in "Andrea's house" .e._a_tavern.html"_;"title="tavern.html"_;"title=".e._a_tavern">.e._a_tavern">tavern.html"_;"title=".e._a_tavern">.e._a_tavern-_Andrea_being_a_fantasy_character_"who_is_not_a_sailor",_possibly_representing_De_André_himself_as_someone_who_is_extraneous_to_the_sailors'_world,_and_in_whose_world_the_sailors_view_themselves_as_misfits._The_instrumentation_featured_in_the_song_is_mostly_ethnic,_with_Pagani_playing_a_recurring_Ostinato#Riff.html" "title="tavern">.e._a_tavern.html" ;"title="tavern.html" ;"title=".e. a tavern">.e. a tavern">tavern.html" ;"title=".e. a tavern">.e. a tavern- Andrea being a fantasy character "who is not a sailor", possibly representing De André himself as someone who is extraneous to the sailors' world, and in whose world the sailors view themselves as misfits. The instrumentation featured in the song is mostly ethnic, with Pagani playing a recurring Ostinato#Riff">riff
A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...
on a
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
plucked with a guitar plectrum, referred to by the invented name of ndelele''; the chorus, built on a Polyrhythm, polymetric structure of three bars (respectively of 5/4, 6/4 and 4/4), is sung by De André and Pagani using meaningless words (''eh anda, yey yey anda, yey yey yey anda, ayo''), sounding more like Sardinian (another favourite language of De André's) than Genoese, and the song ends with chants and hollers by fishmongers and seafood vendors, recorded live by Pagani in the Genoa fish market. In ''Dentro Faber'', Pagani said he felt lucky for the fact that all vendors sang in a perfect
D major
D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor.
The D major scale is:
:
Ch ...
key (the key of the main song), most of them without having the faintest idea of what a key is.
Translation of original Genoese lyrics to "Crêuza de mä"
The opening line, defining the mood of the whole song, reads: "Umbre de muri, muri de mainæ / dunde ne vegnî, duve l'è che'anæ?" Shadows of faces, faces of sailors / where did you come from and where are you going?"As already mentioned, the Ligurian expression ''crêuza de mä'', in the Genoa area, defines a path or mule track, sometimes made of steps, which usually defines the boundaries of private property and connects (as indeed do virtually all roads in Liguria) the hinterland with the sea. The literal translation is therefore "sea lane" or, using a Ligurism, "sea crossing". The lyrics are about sailors who, returning from the sea - poetically described as a place where the moors are bare (i.e. not shaded by hills, plants or houses) and where the night points its knife to men's throats - go to eat at Andrea's tavern, they drink at the fountain of doves in the stone house, and think of who they might find: people from Lugano and "unrecommendable" girls of good family "who you may look at without a condom". The lyrics then focus closer on the figure of sailors and their lives as eternal travelers, and more precisely on a night return of sailors to shore, almost as strangers. De André talks about their feelings, about their experiences on their skin, about the rawness of being at the real mercy of the elements; in the following verse, an ostentatiously joking distrust emerges, which can be seen in the assortment of food imagined, acceptable and normal (or nearly so, for a true sailor), as opposed to other dishes, such as lamb brains, or a sweet-and-sour hash of "hare of tiles" (i.e. the cat, passed off as a sort of rabbit), decidedly and deliberately less acceptable; these are evidently quoted to ironize about the reliability and steadfastness of Andrea (about whom it is stressed that he is not a sailor) and, perhaps, of a whole world to which they know they do not belong.
* "Jamin-a" is about an Arabian prostitute, represented as both fascinating and sinister. Introducing the song in his live shows from the era, as testified on ''Dentro Faber'', De André described Jamina as "a refuge, a safe harbour which sailors travelling all over the world for months and months on end look forward to coming back to, even if they know she could potentially destroy them."
* "Sidún" describes the destruction of Sidon in 1982. In the lyrics, the city is personified as a woman holding a newborn baby and trying to lull him to sleep, even if she knows he is dying. (According to another interpretation given by British
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...
ger Dennis Criteser in his blog ''Fabrizio De André in English'', containing Criteser's English translations of every single song released by De André, the lyrics are a portrait of an actual Lebanese woman, whom Pagani and De André met in Sidon, whose infant son had just been crushed by a tank and was dying.) After the narrative ends, the song goes into a multitracked, extended vocalization section, again sounding more like Sardinian ''
tenores
The ( sc, su tenòre, su cuncòrdu, su cuntràttu, su cussèrtu, s'agorropamèntu, su cantu a pròa; it, canto a tenore) is a style of polyphony, polyphonic folk music, folk singing characteristic of the island of Sardinia (Italy's second larges ...
'' than anything related to Genoa or Liguria or the Middle East.
* "Sinàn Capudàn Pascià" is the story of the eponymous character, a
braggart
Boasting or bragging is speaking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities.
Boasting occurs when someone feels a sense of satisfaction or when someone feels that whatever occurred proves thei ...
from 1500s Genoa (historically known as either Scipione Cicala or
Cığalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha
Cığalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha (also known as ''Cağaloğlu Yusuf Sinan Pasha''; 1545–1605), his epithet meaning "son of Cicala", was an Ottoman Italian statesman who held the office of Grand Vizier for forty days between 27 October to 5 De ...
), who was captured by the
Moors
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or ...
Mehmed III
Mehmed III (, ''Meḥmed-i sālis''; tr, III. Mehmed; 26 May 1566 – 22 December 1603) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1595 until his death in 1603. Mehmed was known for ordering the execution of his brothers and leading the army in the L ...
, eventually rising to the rank of Grand Vizier. The song notably marks a departure from De André's usually serious, occasionally somber style into a lightweight one, almost bordering on
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
with his repeated quote of a popular Ligurian refrain about fish in the sea. He would later adopt the same style in songs such as the mock-operatic "Ottocento", "Mégu megún", and, with a stronger satirical vein, "Don Raffaè", all from his 1990 album '' Le nuvole''.
* "'Â pittima" is a bittersweet song, simultaneously scornful and sympathetic, about a man who chose an unpopular job as his way to earn a living. The arrangement of the song is yet again built on a number of ethnic stringed instruments from the Middle East, all played by Pagani.
* "'Â duménega" is a jokey song about prostitutes being allowed to walk freely through the streets of 1800s Genoa on Sundays, and about the township exploiting the "income" generated by prostitution to pay for the works in the Genoa port. In the last verse, De André jokes about the
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
being such a narrow-minded, bigoted man that he insults the prostitutes without realizing that his own wife is among them. The music is written in the rhythm and style of a fast
tarantella
() is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the mo ...
, very reminiscent of De André's early compositions. In an interview from the era, De André emphasized the song as a show-off for Pagani's compositional strength, with the latter explicitly telling the former that he was going to write a piece in "pure De André style". Pagani, in turn, confirmed that he composed all of the music for the song on his own, warning De André that people would say "Ah, there goes old-time Fabrizio!" about the song.
* "D'ä mê riva" is a regretful and nostalgic lament of a sailor leaving Genoa for an unknown destination, maybe for good, while his girlfriend watches him sailing away from the shore and waves him goodbye holding a handkerchief. The song is the only one on the album where De André actually plays an instrument, namely a simple
arpeggiated
A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves.
An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...
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 pr ...
- "Octave guitar" on "D'ä mê riva" and vocals
* Mario Arcari -
Shehnai
The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end.clarinet on "Jamin-a"
* Aldo Banfi - Synclavier
* François Bedel -
Goblet drum
The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; arz, دربوكة / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet- ...
and
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
instruments
* Francis Biggi - Consultancy on medieval and ethnic instruments
* Walter Calloni -
Drum kit
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...
* Dino D'Autorio -
Bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
on "Sinàn Capudàn Pascià"
* Edo Martin -
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
GS-2 electronic piano
*
Franco Mussida
Franco Mussida (born in Milan, Italy, on 21 March 1947) is an Italian guitar player, composer, and singer. Biography
He is best known as a founder and prominent member of the Italian progressive rock band Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM), establ ...
Mauro Pagani
Mauro Pagani (born 5 February 1946) is an Italian musician and singer.
Pagani was born in Chiari, Lombardy. A multi-instrumentalist, he made his debut in the music world in 1970 as violinist and founding member of the progressive rock band Pre ...
-
Oud
, image=File:oud2.jpg
, image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921
, background=
, classification=
* String instruments
*Necked bowl lutes
, hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum
, ...
bouzouki
The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...
,
mandola
The mandola (US and Canada) or tenor mandola (Ireland and UK) is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola ...
s, mandolins, plucked
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
viola
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
, Roland SPV-335 synthesizer module and vocals
* Maurizio Preti - Percussion
* Massimo Spinosa - Bass guitar, audio editing
* Domna Samiou - Introduction to "Crêuza de mä" from ''Aria per gaida sola'' .e._"Aria_for_solo_gaida",_a_folk_tune_sampled_from_Samiou's_1976_album_''Il_flauto_greco''_("The_Greek_flute").html" ;"title="gaida.html" ;"title=".e. "Aria for solo gaida">.e. "Aria for solo gaida", a folk tune sampled from Samiou's 1976 album ''Il flauto greco'' ("The Greek flute")">gaida.html" ;"title=".e. "Aria for solo gaida">.e. "Aria for solo gaida", a folk tune sampled from Samiou's 1976 album ''Il flauto greco'' ("The Greek flute")
Artwork
The album cover, seen by Italian music reviewers at the time as simultaneously attractive and mysterious, was later revealed by Pagani to be a photo of a house in Greece, shot by American photographer Jay Maisel and chosen by Pagani himself in keeping with the album's overall Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean theme. On the inner gatefold cover, a Greek motif is used as well, to frame the lyrics.
30th anniversary remix/reissue
In 2014, for its 30th anniversary, the album was thoroughly remixed by Pagani, who went back to the original tapes and, after "de-mastering" them (i.e. removing all layers of digital remastering made over the years, in order to obtain flat transfers), mixed all the songs anew, bringing out previously obscured details. The result of his efforts was released as a 2-disc box set. Disc 1 includes the remixed album, a previously unreleased version of "Jamin-a" (faster than the original, in a higher key, with a deliberately strained vocal by De André double-tracked_on_the_final_repeated_verse.html" ;"title="Double_tracking.html" ;"title="lso Double tracking">double-tracked on the final repeated verse">Double_tracking.html" ;"title="lso Double tracking">double-tracked on the final repeated verse featuring prominent drums and no percussion) and three alternate mixes of "Sinàn Capudàn Pascià", "Â duménega" and the title track. Disc 2, titled ''La mia Genova'' (i.e. ''My own Genoa''), includes live renditions, taken from De André's 1984 and 1991 tours, of all tracks from the album except for "D'ä mê riva", plus "'Â çímma" and "Mégu megún" from '' Le nuvole'' and three spoken intros; "D'ä mê riva", which was never performed live by De André, is featured as a solo live performance by Pagani, accompanying himself on bouzouki and featuring Andrea Parodi from Tazenda, recorded in 2004 for his own live tribute to the album.Discogs entry for the 2014 remix/reissue of the album /ref>