Sì (song)

"Sì"
Eurovision Song Contest 1974 entry
Country	Italy
Artist(s)	Gigliola Cinquetti
Language	Italian
Composer(s)	Mario Panzeri, Daniele Pace, Lorenzo Pilat, Corrado Conti
Lyricist(s)	Mario Panzeri, Daniele Pace, Lorenzo Pilat, Corrado Conti
Conductor	Gianfranco Monaldi
Finals performance
Final result	2nd
Final points	18
Appearance chronology
◄ "Chi sarà con te" (1973)
"Era" (1975) ►

"Sì" (English: "Yes") is the name of the Italian entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1974, which finished second behind the Swedish entry "Waterloo" sung by ABBA.

Background

The lyrics and musics were written by Mario Panzeri, Daniele Pace, Lorenzo Pilat and Corrado Conti. It was sung in Italian by Gigliola Cinquetti.

During the preview programmes, Cinquetti sang the song alone in a dark room. The music video was broadcast in black and white as RAI did not move to full color broadcasts until 1977. On the Contest night, Cinquetti performed the ballad in a blue dress, accompanied by an orchestra and four teenage female backup singers, dressed in light yellow blouses and autumnal floral skirts. The song is sung in the first person where she reflects and describes her love for a man, and the exhilaration she feels when she finally says "yes" to him, which signifies that they can start the rest of their lives together. Throughout the song, the word "sì" is repeated sixteen times.

It was the seventeenth and final song of the evening, following Portugal's song "E depois do adeus" which was used as a signal in Portugal to begin the Carnation Revolution.^[1][2]

Under the scoring system of the time, each country had ten jurors, each of whom allocated one point to the song which they deemed to be the best. Sì received 18 votes in this manner, including five from the United Kingdom, four from Monaco, two each from Finland and Spain, and single votes from Israel, Luxembourg, Belgium, Ireland and Portugal, and went pointless from the other six participating songs ^[2] It was Italy's second best result to date, with Cinquetti having won the contest with "Non Ho L'Età" ten years earlier.^[2][3]

Cinquetti later recorded versions in English ("Go (Before You Break My Heart)"), French ("Lui"), German ("Ja") and Spanish ("Si"), which were released across Europe. A Finnish rendering: "Niin", was recorded by Lea Laven and became a Top Ten hit in Finland.

Censorship of song in 1974

The live telecast of the song was banned in her home country by the Italian national broadcaster RAI as the event partially coincided with the campaigning for the 1974 Italian referendum on divorce which was held a month later in May.^[2]

RAI censored the song due to concerns the name and lyrics of the song (which constantly repeated the word "SI") could be accused of being a subliminal message and a form of propaganda to influence the Italian voting public to vote "YES" in the referendum. The song remained censored on most Italian state TV and radio stations for over a month, as a consequence the song failed to enter to Top 40 chart in Italy, and still remains one of the lesser known Eurovision entries in the country. As opposed to "Non ho l'età", "Sì" also failed to make a significant impact on the charts in Continental Europe and Scandinavia - with one notable exception; the English version "Go (Before You Break My Heart)" reached eighth position in the British charts in June 1974, making it one of the very few non-winning Eurovision entries to become a commercial success in the UK.^[4]

Charts

See also

• Eurovision Song Contest 1974
• Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest
• Eurovision Song Contest

References

External links

• Lyrics

Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest   Participation 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 to 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 to 1996 1997 1998 to 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016   Artists 1950s Franca Raimondi (1956) Tonina Torrielli (1956) Nunzio Gallo Domenico Modugno Domenico Modugno 1960s Renato Rascel Betty Curtis Claudio Villa Emilio Pericoli Gigliola Cinquetti Bobby Solo Domenico Modugno Claudio Villa Sergio Endrigo Iva Zanicchi 1970s Gianni Morandi Massimo Ranieri Nicola Di Bari Massimo Ranieri Gigliola Cinquetti Wess and Dori Ghezzi Al Bano & Romina Power Mia Martini Ricchi e Poveri Matia Bazar 1980s Alan Sorrenti 1981 to 1982 Riccardo Fogli Alice & Battiato Al Bano & Romina Power 1986 Umberto Tozzi and Raf Luca Barbarossa Anna Oxa and Fausto Leali 1990s Toto Cutugno Peppino di Capri Mia Martini Enrico Ruggeri 1994 to 1996 Jalisse 1998 to 1999 2000s 2000 to 2009 2010s 2010 Raphael Gualazzi Nina Zilli Marco Mengoni Emma Il Volo Francesca Michielin   Songs 1950s "Amami se vuoi" (1956) "Aprite le finestre" (1956) "Corde della mia chitarra" "Nel blu, dipinto di blu" "Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)" 1960s "Romantica" "Al di là" "Addio, addio" "Uno per tutte" "Non ho l'età" "Se piangi, se ridi" "Dio, come ti amo" "Non andare più lontano" "Marianne" "Due grosse lacrime bianche" 1970s "Occhi di ragazza" "L'amore è un attimo" "I giorni dell'arcobaleno" "Chi sarà con te" "Sì" "Era" "We'll Live It All Again" "Libera" "Questo amore" "Raggio di luna" 1980s "Non so che darei" 1981 to 1982 "Per Lucia" "I treni di Tozeur" "Magic Oh Magic" 1986 "Gente di mare" "Vivo (Ti scrivo)" "Avrei voluto" 1990s "Insieme: 1992" "Comme è ddoce 'o mare" "Rapsodia" "Sole d'Europa" 1994 to 1996 "Fiumi di parole" 1998 to 1999 2000s 2000 to 2009 2010s 2010 "Madness of Love" "L'amore è femmina (Out of Love)" "L'essenziale" "La mia città" "Grande amore" (Note: Entries scored out are when Italy did not compete)