Venezia-Istanbul - Venice-Istanbul

Venezia mi ricorda istintivamente Istanbul Stessi palazzi addosso al mare Rossi tramonti che si perdono nel nulla D' Annunzio montò a cavallo con fanatismo futurista Quanta passione per gli aeroplani e per le bande legionarie Che scherzi gioca all'uomo la Natura Mi dia un pacchetto di Camel senza filtro e una minerva E una cronaca alla radio dice che una punta attacca Verticalizzando l'area di rigore... Ragazzi non giocate troppo spesso accanto agli ospedali Socrate parlava spesso delle gioie dell'Amore E nel petto degli alunni si affacciava quasi il cuore Tanto che gli offrivano anche il corpo: fuochi di Ferragosto E gli anni dell'adolescenza pieni di battesimi e comunioni In sacrestia: Ave Maria Un tempo si giocava con gli amici a carte e per le feste si indossavano cravatte per questioni estetiche e sociali; le donne si sceglievano un marito per corrispondenza... L'Etica è una vittima incosciente della Storia: ieri ho visto due che si tenevano abbracciati in un cinemino di periferia... e penso a come cambia in fretta la morale: un tempo si uccidevano i cristiani e poi questi ultimi con la scusa delle streghe ammazzavano i pagani: Ave Maria E perché il sol dell'avvenire splenda ancora sulla terra Facciamo un po' di largo con un'altra guerra Venezia-Istanbul © 1980 Franco Battiato "Venezia-Istanbul"

Venice reminds me instinctively of Istanbul – the same palaces upon the sea, pink sunsets that perish into thin air. D’Annunzio mounted his horse with futurist fanaticism – such passion for airplanes and for the Legionaire bands. What jokes Nature plays upon man. Give me a pack of unfiltered Camels and a matchbox. And a news show on the radio says that a center forward attacks, sending the ball into the penalty area . . . Kids, don’t play too often next to the hospitals. Socrates spoke often of the joys of Love, and in the chests of the students their hearts almost looking out, such that they also offered him the body: fireworks of the August holidays. And the years of adolescence full of baptisms and communions in sacristy: Ave Maria. Once upon a time one played with friends card games, and for the parties ties were donned for reasons both esthetic and social; the women chose themselves a mail-order husband . . . Ethics is an unwitting victim of History: yesterday I saw two who held each other embraced in a little suburban movie house . . . And I think of how morals change in a hurry: once upon a time Christians were getting killed, and then these outcasts, with the pretext of getting witches, murdered the pagans: Ave Maria. And in order for the sun of the future to still shine upon the land, let’s make a little space with another war. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser The final lines of "Venezia-Istanbul" are taken from Inno dei lavoratori, written in 1886 by Filippo Turati, who was instrumental in the founding of the Italian Socialist Party. Patriots was released in 1980. In the lyrics of this album, there emerge a greater emphasis on irony, the use of foreign languages, and the stringing together of disconnected phrases into montages that may or may not yield meaning upon further analysis, and whose purpose may at times be as much musical as semantic. As is typical with Battiato, there are references to literature, art, philosophy, religion, and music, along with snapshots of personal memories, that form a mix of both high and everyday culture.

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