"" (; ) is a song written by Bruno Lauzi and Maurizio Fabrizio and recorded by Italian singer Mia Martini, who released it as a single in 1989 and included the track in her self-titled album Martini Mia. Martini performed the song for the first time at the Sanremo Music Festival 1989, where it placed 9th in a field of 24, but received the Critics' Award, which would be named after Martini herself after her death. The song later became a commercial success, being certified platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry, and is now considered a classic of Italian popular music.
Cover versions of "" have been recorded by several artists, including Elisa, Mina, Thelma Houston and Marco Mengoni. In 2005, it was voted the best Sanremo Music Festival song of all time by the readers of the Italian newspaper .
Background
The music of "" was composed in 1974 by Italian songwriter Maurizio Fabrizio. During the same year, Bruno Lauzi was asked to write the lyrics for the song, which he completed in thirty minutes. The authors of the song immediately asked Mia Martini to record the song, but at first she refused it. However, in 1989 Martini decided to record the song for the album Martini Mia, which marked her comeback after several years. The song was also submitted to the artistic committee of the 39th Sanremo Music Festival and, in January 1989, was chosen as one of the 24 entries of the main competition, where it placed ninth, receiving the Critics' Award which would later be entitled to Mia Martini herself.
Track listing
7" single – Fonit Cetra SP 1871
"" (Bruno Lauzi, Maurizio Fabrizio) – 5:05
"" (Mia Martini) – 4:00
Charts
Certifications
Cover versions
In 1995, Mina decided to include a cover of "" in her album , replacing Domenico Modugno's "", which was originally chosen as a track of the album. Mina's cover was the first recorded tribute to Martini, who had died earlier that year.
A cover of the song was recorded by Italian singer Elisa in 2003 for the official soundtrack of the movie Remember Me, My Love, directed by Gabriele Muccino. The song was released as a single, topping the Italian Singles Chart for two non-consecutive weeks and later becoming the sixth best-selling single of the year in Italy.
In 2009 the song was also covered by Italian X Factor contestant and eventual winner Marco Mengoni, who performed it during the 9th live show. Mengoni included a studio recording of the track in his debut extended play, , and a live performance of the song in , released in 2010. The studio version of the song peaked at number 22 on the Italian FIMI Singles Chart.
Tiziano Ferro performed the song during the second night of the 70th Sanremo Music Festival, and dedicated his rendition to his husband Victor Allen. Ferro's cover of the song was later recorded and included in the album , released in November 2020.