Rino Gaetano

"Ahó, look, songs are not political texts and I don't give speeches. This is just a joke. In short, for me, ‘'Nuntereggae più’' is the lightest song I've ever written."

"There are people who are paid to report news, others to keep it hidden, and others to falsify it. I am not paid to do any of these things."

"(Presenting the song ‘'E io ci sto’') Let's say it's a journey that's a bit rock, a bit rhythmic through Italy, in this Italy that perhaps we want to change, there are good intentions around, bad intentions. It is certainly an intention to change Italy, and I am in favor of this intention."

"Even when I was singing at Folkstudio, I was at the center of certain discussions... in short, many didn't want me to perform my songs because, they said, it seemed like I was making fun of everyone."

"The dog has a lot to do with it! The new LP is called ‘'Mio fratello è figlio unico’' (My Brother Is an Only Child), and I think nothing expresses the concept of being marginalized and excluded better than a dog. That is, the dog is the epitome of loneliness. The point is basically that we are all poor dogs, quite detached from human contact and quite lonely... That is, we are basically quite isolated from each other."

"I try to write songs inspired by the conversations you can have on the tram, among people, where you immediately realize the state of society. I don't want to teach, I just want to be a chronicler."

"I think that Luigi Tenco died of boredom ten years ago because for twenty-eight years Sanremo has always been the same, because there is no real intention to change it."

"The effendi is that gentleman who habitually consumes a cup of petroleum at five in the afternoon."

"The next piece I'm doing [Aida] is the story of the last 50 years in Italy, told through the loves and moods of a woman named Aida."

"But the festival remains a catwalk, and like all catwalks, it gives you three minutes to make a speech that you would normally make in a two-hour show. So you have to find a way. For my part, I chose the path of paradox, a bit like Carmelo Bene."

"It feels like I'm at the Capannelle racecourse! But let me understand... Am I a winning horse or a placed horse?:*During 1978 Sanremo Festival, quoted in Silvia D'Ortenzi, Rare tracce, p. 93."

"Old songs don't exist."

"Interviewer: Don't you think that by saying ‘'Nuntereggae più'’ you risk being accused of populism? Gaetano: You risk populism when you attribute the effect of a political rally to a song, not when you think you're writing a song about happy times, evasive [...] My songs are love songs for society."

"Interviewer: Why do you talk about various social issues in songs that you then describe as ‘evasive’? Gaetano: In my opinion, there are social periods. That is, there was a period of economic boom in Italy, which we all remember, there was Paul Anka who sang ‘'Diana'’, that other guy who sang another funny song, Morandi who sang ‘'Fatti mandare dalla mamma a prendere il latte'’ (Have your mother send you to get the milk), today milk costs too much so you can't talk about these things here. And people talked about love. Instead, since the economic boom is over, there are problems, and clearly I, as a man, am not blind. However, at the same time, I try to write evasive songs, but since I am not blind, I am unfortunately forced to write and sing songs like “Fabbricando Case,” “Stoccolma,” “Dans le château,” and “Gianna.”"

"Interviewer: Who is ‘Gianna’? Gaetano: Gianna is a girl, a fifteen-year-old who faces a serious problem, that is, she says, “What should I do, get involved in politics right away or wait until I become a prima donna and then do it? Gaetano: In the end, this tough struggle is never resolved because she does both things at the same time."

"Interviewer: How do your songs come about? Gaetano: Let's say I'm in the car, I think of a melody, an aria, and then I try to remember it, to sing it until I'm exhausted, otherwise I'll forget it right away, because, among other things, I have a poor memory. When I get home, I record it, and then this aria will obviously inspire me to write lyrics. [...] Sometimes, however, I'm in the car, I see a beautiful seascape [...] and I decide to describe it in a song. I try to describe the yellow leaves falling and whistling as they fall. And they whistle and go ‘Cip cip’ because they try to imitate the sound of birds. Once I've found these very beautiful, very bucolic phrases, I try to reread them at home with my guitar, looking for musical inspiration in them."

"Interviewer: So the car is a kind of womb from which you give birth to your songs? Gaetano: Yes, I used to write them on foot, now I write them in the car... They are songs for drivers, much richer in fact."

"Who throws the bomb and who hides their hand."

"After three days in captivity, he is released, pictured here with his wife and children, and the Hanoi government declares a state of emergency in the areas affected by American bombing."

"Jannacci was a master, for me he is a true poet, I feel very close to his sensibility. As an author and entertainer, he is truly great. He is someone who knows how to have fun, take things in the right way, and say very interesting things. Take ‘'Giovanni il telegrafista’' (Giovanni the Telegraph Operator), where he comes across as pathetic with extreme elegance. (p. 19)"

"(Talking about ‘'Ma il cielo è sempre più blu’') There are sad or useless images, but never happy ones, because I wanted to emphasize that nowadays there are few happy things, and that is why I consider those who die at work and those who want a raise. Even the line “those who play in Sanremo” is sad and negative, because those who play in Sanremo do not think about those who “live in shacks.”"

"The unifying theme of the songs is that of the marginalized, but not so much those traditionally recognized as such, such as the underclass, alcoholics, and drug addicts, but rather ourselves. Few people care about so-called normal people. Just think of an accident on the street, with people running away for fear that the police will waste their time. This is Mio Fratello è Figlio Unico, a person who is, all things considered, perfectly normal. I like to exaggerate things, I love paradoxes. After all, Ionesco, one of my favorite playwrights, is all about paradoxes. To say that my brother is an only child because he is convinced that there are still exploited, underpaid, and frustrated people is not demagoguery."

"(In the album ‘'My Brother Is an Only Child’') I analyze the situation of the excluded, the marginalized in society, and I conclude that, deep down, we are all only children: relationships of coexistence are dictated solely by duty and not by the pleasure of meeting and collaborating humanely. (p. 25)"

"(About ‘'Berta filava’') It is perhaps the only song that does not fit into the general context of ‘'Mio fratello è figlio unico’'. It is against heroes, saints, novellas, and false myths: deliberately irreverent, the figure of Berta stands out, morally unsavory. In ‘'Berta filava’', the woman is chosen as a symbol: Berta is a bit like all of us who have discovered the tricks, the sleight of hand, the saints who dress in asbestos, the heroes. It helped me to demystify national myths, such as the homeland and the family. (p. 27)"

"(About ‘'La zappa... il tridente, il rastrello, la forca, l'aratro, il falcetto, il crivello, la vanga...’') I wanted to express the contrast between the farmer's tools, rendered as in a slogan, and the useless chatter and games in Countess Maffei's living room. (p. 29)"

"I have never told a story about my own love life, because talking about my personal affairs could upset the woman I am with, as I might run the risk of losing her: at this point, I prefer to lose the song. (p. 31)"

"It must be assumed that I, like other singer-songwriters of my generation, make pop music. But that doesn't prevent me from saying things that aren't light. I also talk about love, but I avoid describing situations such as: she leaves me, goes to someone else, then regrets it and comes back to me. So, even in my language, I try to be realistic. That is, when talking about love, I avoid using the usual tearful and useless words. (p. 31)"

"(Talking about ‘'Sfiorivano le viole’') The meaning of the song is: let's get a move on; while I was waiting for her, everything happened in the world and I didn't notice. Everything happened while I was waiting for you."

"(About the reason for the title ‘'Aida’') Aida is a typical Italian name and because it represents all those women from the last seventy years, so my grandmother, my mother, my girlfriend, and possibly my future daughter. They are all Aidas, who have suffered as I have suffered over the last 28 years and as my mother has suffered in recent years. (p. 33)"

"Aida is not one woman, but all the women who tell their stories, each for five minutes. The result is the story of the last seventy years of Italy. (p. 33)"

"(About ‘'Escluso il cane’') The dog, the more it gets beaten, the more loyal it is: a politically absurd figure for the times we live in. The song was born from this consideration. (p. 37)"

"(About the final part of ‘'Nuntereggae più’') It's just another way of saying: “Oh well, since I've told you these things, since the song isn't political, the song isn't a rally, the singer-songwriter isn't Enrico Berlinguer or Marco Pannella, then at this point those who only write love songs are right.” (p. 41)"

"(About ‘'Gianna’') She is a girl, perhaps a little grown up, who is looking for a lot of things, looking for her Prince Charming, and this time she identifies him in the unions, in other things around her, but since she is a little tired in the evening, she looks for love. If in Sei ottavi she was masturbating, here she is looking for love with others. These are the contradictions of today's girls, and not only girls, but all of us. I believe that we are all a little confused, so we too are inclined to stand on the podium and say: “Stop, now I will explain my theories to you.” Which clearly correspond to my illusions. (p. 45)"

"Sanremo means nothing, and it is no coincidence that I participated with ‘Gianna’, which means nothing. (p. 46)"

"(About the role of the songwriter) To expect to give people something more than a smile, albeit a bitter one, something that starts a concrete process, through a song is pure illusion. This is the thesis of many singer-songwriters and also mine: in Italy, something that has always worked is irony, satire (even if no one has ever identified with the characters who have been the subject of it), the “we can't take it anymore, simplified and without dramatic consequences.”"

"What interests me most is that sarcasm, the way I make fun of certain cornerstones of society, is easily understood by the public and taken for what it is; I have never tried to sugarcoat things or overdo it. (p. 49)"

"In some cities in the north, I have met people who are upset when you tell them you are Calabrian: they still expect to see a dark, short man with a moustache and a shotgun, a grim look on his face and a big hat. I think Puerto Ricans are better off than us. (p. 51)"

"I have written several pieces about emigration, but I have always placed this scourge within the broader and more alienating concept of marginalization and, above all, I have not portrayed the emigrant in the usual, trite iconography (teary eyes, cardboard suitcase, and mother dressed in black), trying instead to capture more of the turmoil of his emotions and affections. (p. 61)"

"(About the miniseries “Rino Gaetano - Ma il cielo è sempre più blu” (Rino Gaetano - But the sky is always bluer) that he produced) I had had the subject in mind for some time. I knew Rino Gaetano well because, as a girl, I was friends with his sister Anna, and we used to hang out in Rome. I liked his music and I liked him, a deeply intelligent guy. His is the story of a modern-day hero, as relevant today as his songs are. Stories about young people are rarely told on TV: this one aims to be."

"His biography is emblematic, beautiful, interesting to tell. Everything about him deserves attention. Even the car accident that caused his death."

"Claudia Mori, quoted in Emilia Costantini, Rino Gaetano, fiction su un cantautore-eroe, Corriere della Sera, 20 January 2007."

"(Referring to some of his songs) “Here there is no Gianna, Aida, or Berta spinning | and when the sun sets, Maria is already gone. | Despite the changes, this sky is always blue, | it is always the color you left it.”"

"We're here tonight to say goodbye to a friend, | to remember a brother named Rino. | I went to Verano just to say goodbye | because, I can say, I grew up with you. | If there were a monument, millions would come | to pay homage to the genius who sang the songs.‘’"

"In the end, Rino's beautiful songs, almost Battistian in style, work. Not only because they remind us of the atmosphere of the late 1970s, but also because the musical obviousness proposed today makes them even more of a model. “‘'Nuntereggae più’'” is very topical: Costanzo and Bongiorno are still there, you just need to change the name of a few politicians."

"The life of the solitary and tormented singer-songwriter (who died in a car accident) was short but intense in terms of the creativity of his compositions, which ranged from paradox to sarcasm. An exuberant and satirical artist with a captivating musical vein, Rino Gaetano played a witty and irreverent role that was unusual in the Italian music scene."

"I will say right away that Rino Gaetano was an artist, and I would add that this cannot be said of everyone. He was an artist, with all the fragility of artists, with a presence and an often decisive desire to provoke. Nuntereggae più is more than a song, it is a manifesto, a chorus of protest."

"He was physically different from us, he didn't have the aplomb of university students that we had, even though we tried to act like freaks. Then there was Rino's gypsy-like appearance, he was a kind of loose cannon, he had enormous talent and boundless imagination. I remember his mocking, provocative gaze, but also his great sweetness. His songs had the formal appearance of nonsense, but they had content, they made you think. Rino knew what songs were and how to write them. He was a man of the South and you could sense that, I mean that in a positive way."

"Francesco and Antonello were politically engaged, even though Rino also had his own political views, but perhaps they were a little more disguised and also a little more subtle, more ironic, not as overt as Antonello's songs might have been."

"Time causes some songs to fade, while Rino's songs defy the power of time: with simple harmonic turns, provocative, irreverent phrases, but recited with the lightness and naivety of a pure artist. And always with his unmistakable scratchy voice."

"At this point, I would like to mention an important figure, Aldo Moro, who was born a short distance from here, in Maglie... He is one of the biggest shoe manufacturers, someone who has made shoes for the whole of Italy. [...] I know very well that he uses very clear language, he invented several terms, in fact he is a great philologist, he invented parallel convergences, the economic situation, all these things... Once I heard him make some very strange speeches, such as: “These ferments of dissolution, I would not say iconoclastic but projected towards new hypertrophic temptations that bring me back to a new universal pragmatism and new dimensions yet to be discovered...” and there are all these things that make it impossible to clarify anything at all. It's very distracting, and last year I wrote an even more distracting piece dedicated to these enigmatic figures from the world of politics and other worlds as well. Anyway, tonight I want to dedicate it to this character who has outsmarted the whole of Italy."