submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Giocatore mondiale Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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I must make a correction to my comment above. The architectural barriers were in fact everywhere except inside the stadiums, which were upgraded for the World Cup. Moreover, Bertoli had previously appeared in a TV ad (referenced in the lyrics) where he witnessed a car crash and tried to call for an ambulance but couldn't get into the phone booth. |
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| Elio E Le Storie Tese – [Gomito a gomito con l’] Aborto Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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A cunning parody of a thousand schmaltzy Italian pop ballads, whose nonsensical lyrics are punctuated by the continuous, obsessive use of the word "aborto" ("abortion"), just for the sake of provocation. The band wanted to put it out as a single (coupled with a cover of Nek's "In te", a preposterous anti-abortion anthem). Only a promo was made, which understandably didn't gain much airplay. |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Zelig: la Cunesiùn del Pulpacc Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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A folk number, sung in a wilfully incorrect Milanese slang, about one of Milan's foremost clubs, Zelig. Back in the Eighties – when the song was written – EelST used to play there frequently, and they're still close friends of its owner Giancarlo Bozzo (particularly Rocco Tanica, who's been involved in recent editions of the Zelig TV show). The lyrics are far from flattering, but then again Bozzo loved being the butt of the band's jokes. |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – You Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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This jazzy cover of Johann Sebastian Bach's "Aria On The G String" was actually conceived as a parody of the Willie Nelson/Julio Iglesias duet "To All The Girls I've Loved Before" (hence the first verse in English). Singer Elio and keyboardist Rocco Tanica share lead vocal duties, both pretending to be gay and serenading each other. |
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| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Valzer transgenico Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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This outtake from the band's 2003 album "Cicciput", released only three years later as a digital download, is a protest against genetically modified food in the form of a typical Italian waltz. |
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| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Urna Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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"Urna" exists in two crucially different versions: the laid-back disco-funk live version, and the speed-metal studio version. But the playfulness of the music belies one of the band's darkest lyrics, dealing with the inexorabilty of death. Since we cannot escape it, we can only hope to be given a worthy burial after we're gone. |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Ùnanimi Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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This is the song that the band used as a concert opener on their 1987 tour. They sing a cappella, accompanying themselves with handclaps, and there's a verse where each member sings a different quatrain simultaneously. The title can be translated as "in unison". |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Banane giganti Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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This is the theme song to the animation movie "Terkel In Trouble", dubbed in Italian by EelST. The basic track is the same as the original Danish edition, but the lyrics have been translated by Faso (who also handles the lead vocals, with Elio and Rocco Tanica on harmonies) and Antonello Governale, who lends his voice to another of the film's characters. Like so many EelST songs, this one is seen through the eyes of a teenage boy hopelessly in love with a girl who treats him like dirt. |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Ti amo campionato Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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A new version of the song "Ti amo", once performed live for 12 consecutive hours, then released as "Sabbiature" (again live) with lyrics against corrupted politicians. "Ti amo campionato" is similar to "Sabbiature" in its concept, but this time Elio's anger is aimed at the referees who allegedly took money from FC Juventus in exchange for the team's victory in the 1997/98 Italian football championship. Elio meticulously describes each of the referees' "mistakes" that favoured Juventus in key matches. The basic track was clearly inspired by Robert Miles' dancefloor classic "Children". |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Tenia (Maniac) Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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This is a parody of Michael Sembello's "Maniac" that the band used to play in the Eighties, when they used a drum machine instead of a real drummer. "Tenia" means "tapeworm", and that's precisely what the song is about. An unreleased alternate version exists, called "Nenia" ("dirge"), whose lyric focuses instead on the complex of Oedipus. |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Tapparella Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Of EelST's many classics, "Tapparella", written in 1994 but first issued in 1996, is the best loved. It begins like Hendrix's "Little Wing", then it builds into an aching, Hammond-laced ballad before climaxing with a scorching guitar solo. On live dates, the band always use it as an encore, in memory of their late mate Paolo "Feiez" Panigada, who originally provided spine-tingling falsetto vocals and acoustic guitar.
The song is about a boy in his early teens who never gets invited to his schoolmates' parties. Tired of being the butt of their jokes, he plans to have an imaginary party in his mind where everyone is invited, friends and enemies alike, and, last but not least, a mysterious friend called Panino ("Sandwich"). Panino was also one of the many aliases of Panigada, so when the final throng explodes, it is a more than fitting tribute to the great musician and friend.
Just two months before Paolo's passing in 1998, this song was performed with special guest Carlos Santana during an Italian TV show. |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – T.V.U.M.D.B. Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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This 1996 love song was openly dedicated to all those young girls who scribble acronyms on subway walls and dream about Take That (who back then were holding sway).
The arrangement draws its inspiration from Earth, Wind & Fire's "After The Love Has Gone" – the cosmic-soul collective even get name-checked at one point. |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Supermaison Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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This delicate, jazzy ballad is about a very lazy man who prefers to fall asleep rather than make love to his woman. Eventually she walks away, leaving him yawning, with his beloved slippers on. |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Supergiovane Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Supergiovane is a new superhero who defends teenagers from the wrath of grown-ups. This turbo-charged mini-suite first appeared in 1992 as the centrepiece of the "Italyan, Rum Casusu Çikti" album, and it has since become a live favourite, played on almost every date to ecstatic response.
In concert as well as on record, the track features architect Luca Mangoni (Elio's former school buddy) as the titular character. On stage, he slips into a ludicrous yellow and black superhero costume and easily works the audience into a frenzy by cavorting and bouncing to and fro, shouting random profanities and hurling his mic-stand skyward. |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Sunset Boulevard Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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This song, composed for the 1993/94 edition of TV show "Mai Dire Gol" is about a soccer player well past his prime – he should have retired at the peak of his powers rather than now, devoid of his old brilliance and much derided for his sloppiness and far-from-perfect physical condition. |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Sono Felice Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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"Felice" means "happy" in Italian, but it is also a boy's name. So it makes perfect sense that this parody of the song "Sono felice" (originally penned by Rosalino "Ron" Cellamare for singer/actress Milva) is fashioned as a tribute to Sixties/Seventies cycling champion Gimondi, since his first name is Felice.
An English version of the song also exists, entitled "Deep Joy" and performed by Sandie Shaw. |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Sogno o son desktop Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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This is one of two songs about whores on EelST's album "Craccracriccrecr" (the other is "La bella canzone di una volta").
The chorus translates like this: "I'm dreaming of a world where people will no longer need to prostitute themselves to make love for money" – an ambiguous statement which can be interpreted in more ways than one. |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Silos Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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There will come a day when the food on Earth will start running out. EelST offer up a possible solution – filling up a huge silos with all kinds of bodily substances. Not for the faint-hearted. |
submissions
| R.E.M. – Walk Unafraid Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I think that the first two lines are a reference to "Cadillac Walk", a 1977 hit for Mink DeVille, which begins like this: "As the moon comes up and the sun goes down, Rita starts to creep around". |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Servi della gleba Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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This is one of the best lyrics the band have ever come up with.
When a boy falls hopelessly in love with a girl who doesn't actually like him very much, he will most likely turn into a "servo della gleba" (feudalist-era servant). First he tells his friends he's met this nice girl he enjoys talking to, then he gradually disappears to follow her and try to please her the best he can, almost slavishly. Once the mutation is complete, he has two alternatives: he can worship her to the point of avoiding expressing his sentiments, thus entering a phase of silent symbiosis, or he can choose to declare his love to her. If she accepts him, he finally reaches his goal and loses touch with his friends. If she turns him down, he enters a phase of deep sorrow and self-pity, then he gets back in touch with his mates and explains his lengthy absence by saying: "I've had a lot of stuff to do."
The two verses of the song are a mini-tragicomedy in two acts in which Elio plays the part of the boy before and after becoming a "servo della gleba", while his friends are played by the rest of the band. The must-see video also features US model Holly Higgins as the girl and the band's drummer Christian Meyer as her "real" boyfriend. |
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| Tom Waits – Jersey Girl Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Initially I thought Springsteen wrote it and Waits covered it, but then I discovered it was the other way round. |
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| Tom Waits – Kentucky Avenue Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I definitely agree. These words (and the way Tom delivers them) never fail to move me. I think it vies with "Tom Traubert's Blues" as his most heart-wrenching song. |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Sabbiature Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Every year, on the 1st of May, a rock festival is held in Rome. EelST first took part in the event in 1991. Like Elvis Costello on Saturday Night Live 14 years earlier, they played the opening bars of the song that was on their setlist ("Cassonetto differenziato") but then abruptly switched to another one, "Ti amo", which they had previously performed for a staggering 12 consecutive hours. A new, biting lyric mercilessly attacked several Italian politicians on the basis of facts, and that was even before the huge bribery scandal that would send many of them to jail!
Of course the national TV that was broadcasting the concert wasn't too pleased with the band's unexpected move, so they hastily arranged an interview with singer-songwriter Ricky Gianco to drown out the final part of the song. The band kept on playing until they were ordered off stage by the police, à la Jim Morrison. |
submissions
| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Puliletti Blues Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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This song was improvised during a studio rehearsal. Elio makes up a story on the spot about a hard-living bluesman called Puliletti, who only plays minor chords and can drink 26 gallons of beer in one chug. |
submissions
| Tom Waits – Whistlin' Past the Graveyard Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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This is a bloody great song! Waits sings like a man possessed. The lyric is full of peerless lines such as "What you think is the sunshine is just a twinkle in my eye"... |
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| Tom Waits – Frank's Wild Years Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Davide Van De Sfroos, a very talented Italian singer-songwriter, did a mean job of translating this song into the Como Lake slang. Real Waits diehards should check it out! |
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| Tom Waits – A Sight for Sore Eyes Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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This is perhaps my favourite Waits song. I have to say "perhaps" because he's written so many masterpieces, but I really do love this one.
You can almost picture him in his crumpled jacket and newsboy hat, perched on the counter of some seedy New York bar, knocking back the booze and talking to complete strangers the whole night through... |
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| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Pipppero® Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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The Pipppero® is a brand new dance derived from the traditional Bulgarian song "Dyulmano Dyulbero". Legend has it that the band imported it from Bulgaria by swapping it with "Ramaya" (a novelty hit from the Seventies). |
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| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Pilipino rock Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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A Filipino housekeeper has done a lot of hard work without getting paid, so he sues his employer, wins, and eventually flies back to his native country. |
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| Elio E Le Storie Tese – Piattaforma Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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This song is a parody of make-out music, but once you get to the end you realize that it does not describe a sexual encounter between a man and a woman but between a father and his young son.
Downright creepy, even more so when you think about such hideous things actually happening in the real world. |
submissions
| R.E.M. – At My Most Beautiful Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I listened to "Up" yesterday, and I found out I liked every song on it (even "Sad Professor", which I'd always overlooked).
This song is special. I love the arrangement, the plaintive piano, the skeletal drum pattern, the angelic backing vocals. I totally agree with Lexus about the lyric – I also get the feeling that it's strongly autobiographical (like "So. Central Rain", that other R.E.M. masterpiece about long-distance communication).
Please don't be put off by the fact that it was used in a Drew Barrymore chick-flick. |
submissions
| The Clash – (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Ntwjones nailed it! This is a very important document and, as such, it was recently voted The Clash's greatest song by an all-star poll. Lyrics-wise, it's pretty hard to beat: "If Adolf Hitler flew in today/They'd send a limousine anyway". Brilliant and harrowing. It's up there with "Like A Rolling Stone". |
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