Corde della mia chitarra

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Corde Della Mia Chitarra
Eurovision Song Contest 1957 entry
Country Italy
Artist(s) Nunzio Gallo
With Piero Gozo
Language Italian
Composer(s) Mario Ruccione
Lyricist(s) Giuseppe Fiorelli
Place 6th
Points 7
Lyrics from Diggiloo Thrush


"Corde della mia chitarra" (English translation: "Strings Of My Guitar") was the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957, performed in Italian by Nunzio Gallo.

With lyrics by Giuseppe Fiorelli and music by Mario Ruccione, including live guitar accompaniment provided by Piero Gozo, the song holds the distinction of being the longest song in Contest history. John Kennedy O'Connor describes it as "over five minutes long" in his work on the Contest, and Des Mangan records it as "5 minutes and 9 seconds", as well as suggesting that the listener "would have thought of many better uses for the strings of his guitar". Following this Contest, the rule governing the length of entries was tightened to require them to be no longer than 3.5 minutes initially and later 3 minutes exactly, with both authors agreeing that the change was due to this entry's length. In the 2007 edition of John Kennedy O'Connor's The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History, the song is officially listed as the longest entry in the history of the contest, ironically being performed after the officially listed shortest song! [1]

The song itself is a ballad in the chanson style popular in the early years of the Contest. Gallo sings of his mixed feelings at seeing a former lover and realising that she is no longer interested in him. He asks the strings of his guitar to play for him alone, since she has no interest in their music anymore.

The song was performed fourth on the night (following the United Kingdom's Patricia Bredin with All and preceding Austria's Bob Martin with Wohin, kleines Pony?). At the close of voting, it had received 7 points, placing 6th in a field of 10.

It was succeeded as Italian representative at the 1958 Contest by Domenico Modugno with Nel blu dipinto di blu (Volare).

[edit] References

  1. ^ O'Connor, John Kennedy - The Official History Of The Eurovision Song Contest. Carlton Books, UK, 2007 ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3
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