Crêuza de mä

Crêuza de mä
Studio album by Fabrizio De André
Released March 1984
Genre Folk
Length 33:29
Label Ricordi
Producer Mauro Pagani, Fabrizio De André
Fabrizio De André chronology

Fabrizio De André
(1981)		 Crêuza De Mä
(1984)		 Le nuvole
(1990)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

Crêuza de mä is the eleventh studio album by Fabrizio De André. It is sung in the Genoese dialect.[2] All the songs were written by De André and Mauro Pagani, 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), 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 Genoan songwriter. Halfway through the album sessions, responding to Pagani's repeated concerns that the lyrics would be incomprehensible to non-Genoans, De André reassured his friend by telling that his music was so good that even Sicilians would get the meaning of the songs without understanding a single word.[3] However, full Italian translations of the lyrics (by De André himself) were included in the album's liner notes.

Track listing

All lyrics by Fabrizio De André; music by Mauro Pagani and Fabrizio De André.

  1. Crêuza de mä ("Muletrack by the sea")- 6:16
  2. Jamin-a ("Jamina", an Arabic female name)- 4:52
  3. Sidún (i.e. Sidon, in Lebanon) - 6:25
  4. Sinàn Capudàn Pascià ("Sinàn Captain Pasha", a legendary braggart from Genoa) - 5:32
  5. Â pittima ("The flea", a derogatory nickname for a tax revenue officer) - 3:43
  6. Â duménega ("On Sunday") - 3:40
  7. D'ä mê riva ("From my shore") - 3:04

With the notable exceptions of "Jamin-a" and "Sidún", inspired by De André and Pagani's then-recent trips to Africa and the Middle East, all songs are about Genoa in the 1800s; in particular, "Â duménega" is a jokey song about prostitutes being allowed to walk freely through the streets of Genoa on Sundays, and about the township exploiting the "income" generated by prostitution to pay for the works in the Genoa port; "D'ä mê riva", on the other hand, is a regretful and nostalgic lament of a sailor leaving Genoa for an unknown destination, maybe for good.

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ (Italian) Infos and credits about Crêuza de mä
  3. ↑ Dentro Faber, DVD 5: Genova ed il Mediterraneo (Genoa and the Mediterranean).