"Nel blu, dipinto di blu" (; 'In the blue [sky] [as I was] painted blue'), popularly known as "Volare" (; 'To fly'), is a song originally recorded by Italian singer-songwriter Domenico Modugno. Written by Modugno and Franco Migliacci, it was released as a single on 1 February 1958.
The song spent five non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in August and September 1958, and subsequently became Billboard's number-one single for the year. In 1959. At the 1st Annual Grammy Awards, Modugno's recording became the first ever Grammy winner for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
Winning the eighth Sanremo Music Festival, the song was chosen as the Italian entry to the Eurovision Song Contest in 1958, where it came in third place out of ten songs in total. The combined sales of all the versions of the song exceed 18 million copies worldwide, making it one of the all-time most popular songs to come out of Sanremo and Eurovision.
The song was later translated into several languages and recorded by a wide range of performers. The song is also used as the basis for numerous football chants.
Background and composition
Writing
Franco Migliacci began working on the lyrics of the song in June 1957, inspired by two paintings by Marc Chagall. He had planned to go to the sea with Domenico Modugno, but while waiting for Modugno to show up, Migliacci started drinking wine and eventually fell asleep. He had vivid dreams, and when he woke up, he looked at the Chagall paintings (reproductions) on the wall. In "Le coq rouge" was a yellow man suspended in mid-air, while in "Le peintre et la modelle", half the painter's face was coloured blue. So he began penning a song about a man who dreams of painting himself blue, and being able to fly. Later that same night, Migliacci discussed his lyrics with Modugno, and for several days they worked on the song, tentatively entitled "Sogno in blu" ('Dream in blue').
In 2008, Modugno's widow, Franca Gandolfi, recalled that her husband, after a storm forced open his window, had the idea of modifying the chorus of the song, introducing the word "Volare", which is now the popular title of the song.
Musical style and lyrical content
The song is a ballad in a dramatic chanson style, in which Modugno describes the feeling he has when with his lover; a feeling that resembles flying. The song opens with a surreal prelude, which the cover versions often left out:
The English lyrics were written by Mitchell Parish. Alternative English lyrics were written in 1958 by Gracie Fields, and were used from then in most concerts she performed in until her death in 1979; she often changed the words to suit her performance and age.
Song contests
Sanremo Music Festival
In 1958, the song participated in the selection process for the eighth Sanremo Music Festival. The jury charged with selecting the entries to the competition was going to reject "Nel blu dipinto di blu"; however, in the end, it was one of the 20 admitted songs.
On 31 January 1958, the song was performed for the first time, during the second night of the Festival, by Domenico Modugno and Johnny Dorelli. It was Dorelli's first appearance at the Festival, and according to his team-partner, Dorelli was so nervous that he had to be punched by Modugno to be persuaded to perform on stage.
After being admitted to the final, held at the Sanremo Casino on 1 February 1958, the song was performed again, winning the contest, beating the song "L'edera" by Nilla Pizzi and Tonina Torrielli, which came in second place.
While Dorelli's performance had little impact on the audience, Modugno's is now considered to be the event that changed the history of Italian music. During his performance, Modugno opened his arms as if he was going to fly, which would contribute to making it the most successful Sanremo Music Festival song. It would also mark a change in the way of performing, as Italian singers were used to standing with their arms on their chest, without moving on the stage.
Eurovision Song Contest
Following its victory at the Sanremo Music Festival, the song was chosen to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 1958, which took place on 12 March in Hilversum, Netherlands. Domenico Modugno was chosen as the singer.