E penso a te (song)

"E penso a te"
Song
Genre Light music
Label CGD

E penso a te (English: And I think of you) is the title of a song composed in 1970 by Lucio Battisti based on the lyrics by Mogol. Initially sung by Bruno Lauzi, it was subsequently re-recorded by numerous other artists.

The song

The lyrics recount the nostalgic thoughts of a man about an absent woman, playing on the back-and-forth between the memory of a fruitless date and the thoughts of what she might be doing in this moment. The song and the singer highlight the hesitation of the protagonist in the presence of the woman (the initial piano riff) and the explosion of the feeling of nostalgia in her absence (the crescendo). The emotional effect is amplified by the repetition of the phrase "and I think of you" and by the final chord, with a final diminuendo in which all of the instruments dissolve into silence, leaving only the singer's voice.

The lyrics of the song were written in 19 minutes[1] during a drive on the Milano-Como Highway in which Mogol composed the lyrics almost entirely improvising while Lucio Battisti (according to some versions, while he was driving,[2] according to others while he was sitting in the passenger seat[3]) sung the melody line.

According to a document published on 5 August 2009, the song was censured in Argentina by the National Reorganization Process with the newsletter 24-COMFER on 25 July 1978, along with songs by other internationally famous artists such as John Lennon, Queen, Joan Baez, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Donna Summer and Eric Clapton.[4]

Versions and albums

Bruno Lauzi

Published in 1970 as a B-side of a 45 record along with the song Mary oh Mary, it was then included, in the same year, in the album Bruno Lauzi.

Musicians

Mina

In 1971 Mina sang it, including it as an opening track on the album Mina.

Musicians

Lucio Battisti

The version sung by Lucio Battisti was published in 1972 in the album Umanamente uomo: il sogno and was subsequently republished in numerous anthologies, among which in 2004 in the anthology Le avventure di Lucio Battisti e Mogol.

Musicians

Other

There have been other recordings made by other artists; after the recording by Bruno Lauzi it was recorded by Raffaella Carrà who included the song in the eponymous LP and by Johnny Dorelli who included it as a B-side on the 45 record Love Story.

The song has been covered by numerous artists including Ornella Vanoni (1986 – Ornella &...), Mietta (2003 – Abbracciati e vivi / Sentirti / E penso a te), Raf (2005 – Tutto Raf), Antonio Spadaccino (2006 – Antonino), Fiorella Mannoia (2009 – Ho imparato a sognare) e Enrico Ruggeri.

On 21 June 2009 the song was covered by Fiorella Mannoia and Laura Pausini for the Abruzzo earthquake benefit concert Amiche per l'Abruzzo. The song was included in the eponymous DVD the following year.

In 1991 Enrico Rava produced an instrumental version in the tribute album "Ci ritorni in mente".

Mina and Iva Zanicchi have recorded two different versions in Spanish, Jean-François Michel in French, Ajda Pekkan in Turkish, and Johnny Dorelli and Tanita Tikaram in English.

Notes

  1. ↑ Salvatore, Gianfranco (2000). Giunti editore, ed. L'arcobaleno. Storia vera di Lucio Battisti vissuta da Mogol e dagli altri che c'erano. p. Page 138.
  2. ↑ Salvatore, Gianfranco (1997). Castelvecchi editore, ed. Mogol-Battisti: l'alchimia del verso cantato. p. Page 271.
  3. ↑ Sabelli Fioretti, Claudio; Giorgio Lauro (2008). Aliberti editore, ed. Il mio amico Lucio Battisti. p. Page 12.
  4. ↑ Andrea Laffranchi (6 August 2009). "La lista nera: Battisti, Baglioni, Paoli vietati dai dittatori". Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 2009-08-08.