Bandiera bianca - White Flag

Mr. Tamburino non ho voglia di scherzare Rimettiamoci la maglia i tempi stanno per cambiare Siamo figli delle stelle e pronipoti di sua maestà il denaro Per fortuna il mio razzismo non mi fa guardare Quei programmi demenziali con tribune elettorali E avete voglia di mettervi profumi e deodoranti Siete come sabbie mobili tirate giù uh uh C'è chi si mette degli occhiali da sole Per avere più carisma e sintomatico mistero Uh com'è difficile restare padre quando i figli crescono e le mamme imbiancano Quante squallide figure che attraversano il paese Com'è misera la vita negli abusi di potere Sul ponte sventola bandiera bianca Sul ponte sventola bandiera bianca A Beethoven e Sinatra preferisco l'insalata A Vivaldi l'uva passa che mi dà più calorie Uh! com'è difficile restare calmi e indifferenti Mentre tutti intorno fanno rumore In quest'epoca di pazzi ci mancavano gli idioti dell'orrore Ho sentito degli spari in una via del centro Quante stupide galline che si azzuffano per niente Minima immoralia Minima immoralia E sommersi soprattutto da immondizie musicali Sul ponte sventola bandiera bianca Sul ponte sventola bandiera bianca Minima immoralia, minima immoralia… The end, my only friend, this is the end. Sul ponte sventola bandiera bianca… Bandiera bianca © 1981 Franco Battiato "Bandiera bianca" is a rant about some aspects of contemporary society that Battiato found most immoral: terrorism, politics, and money. In the first verse, the Dylan reference is followed by a reference to Alan Sorrenti's disco hit Figli delle stelli. The person donning the sunglasses in the third verse is Battiato himself, while the growing kids and pale moms are from a 1954 hit Tutte le mamme. "Minima immoralia" is an inversion of the title of a treatise on ethics, the Magna Moralia, or Great Ethics, based on Aristotle's thinking. The song ends with a refrain taken from an 1849 poem by Arnaldo Fusinato, "The Final Hour of Venice," along with an altered line from The Doors song "The End."

Mr. Tambourine, I’m not joking around, let’s put on sweaters again, the times they are about to change. We are children of the stars and great-grandchildren of His Majesty the Dollar. Fortunately my racism doesn’t make me watch those screwball programs with electoral debates and you all want to use perfumes and deodorants, you’re like shifting sands blown down. There are those who don sunglasses to have more charisma and characteristic mystery. How difficult to remain a father when kids grow up and the mamas become pale. So many debased figures that crisscross the country, how miserable life is in the abuses of power. On the bridge flutters a white flag On the bridge flutters a white flag I prefer salad to Beethoven and Sinatra, to Vivaldi, raisins that give me more calories. How difficult it is to stay calm and indifferent while everyone around makes noise. In this period of crazies we’re missing the idiots of horror (films). I heard some shots in a street downtown, so many stupid hens who fight for nothing – minor immorality, minor immorality – and submerged, most importantly, by musical garbage. On the bridge flutters a white flag On the bridge flutters a white flag Minor immorality, minor immorality . . . The end, my only friend, this is the end. On the bridge flutters a white flag . . . English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser La voce del padrone was released in 1981 and was the first Italian pop album to sell more than a million copies, remaining on the charts for more than a year after its release. Intellectual pop, refined, yet danceable and accessible to a wide audience - the album really hit the mark both artistically and commercially. The album title derives from the work of Gurdjieff, whom Battiato began studying in 1975. It refers to the higher consciousness that an awakened person can use to direct their physical, emotional and psychological impulses.

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