"E penso a te" (English: And I think of you) is 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 most popular version remains the one which its author gave in 1972.
The song
Meaning
The lyrics recount the nostalgic thoughts of a man who is in love with a somewhat distant woman. The song does not say who she is: she may be a former lover or wife, with whom the protagonist broke up, or maybe just a casually encountered woman he immediately fell in love with.
The protagonist, in any case, can't help but think of her constantly: the first and third stanza describe the actions of his daily life, each one followed by "... e penso a te" ("... and I think of you"), a line which highlights his obsession and his inability to fully enjoy what he is doing. During the day, the protagonist is at work, then comes home, and has a date with his current girlfriend, but keeps on thinking to his real love and fails to appear funny and involved; he finally goes to bed but can't sleep for the same reason. In the second stanza, he asks himself what she might be doing in this moment and bets she is searching for him too; but he has no true hope, because "the city is too big for two who, like us, are looking for each other".
The three stanzas are followed by an instrumental coda which represents the explosion of nostalgia. In Battisti's rendering, the coda has a final diminuendo in which all of the instruments dissolve into silence, leaving only the singer's voice, as to represent his loneliness in the world.
Mogol, who wrote the song's lyrics, told that the protagonist «still hopes in a casual encounter; the desire to see each other is such that there is the will for a miracle, for something impossible, opposed to the reality which seems impregnable. [...] It's a constant search. As if they were dogs: there's something that goes beyond reasoning, a kind of animal instinct».
Composition
The lyrics of the song were written in just 19 minutes during a drive on the Milano-Como Highway in which Mogol composed the lyrics almost entirely improvising while Lucio Battisti sung the melody line. The drive took place on a full-loaded tiny car; on board there were four people including Mario Lavezzi. According to some versions, Battisti was driving, according to others he was sitting in the passenger seat and Mogol himself drove the car.
When Battisti composed the song, he didn't believe it could become successful: he famously said that «this one won't make it, doesn't have enough rhythm, it's weak». For this reason, he didn't record the song himself but gave it to Bruno Lauzi, and even Lauzi's rendering wasn't given much emphasis (it was released in 1970 as B-side of another song written by Battisti and Mogol, named Mary oh Mary). The single wasn't a success and sold just over 30,000 copies. The song became a hit and a classic of Italian pop music only two years later, when Battisti sung the song himself and included it in the album Umanamente uomo: il sogno.
Legacy
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.
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
Franz Di Cioccio: drums
Damiano Dattoli: bass
Flavio Premoli: piano
Andrea Sacchi: acoustic guitar
Mario Lavezzi: guitar
Giampiero Reverberi: arrangement and orchestra conductor
Mina
In 1971, Mina sang it and include as an opening track on the album Mina. Subsequently, it was recorded in a live version on the album Dalla Bussola (1972).