I Treni di Tozeur - The Trains of Tozeur

Nei villaggi di frontiera guardano passare i treni Le strade deserte di Tozeur Da una casa lontana tua madre mi vede Si ricorda di me delle mie abitudini E per un istante ritorna la voglia di vivere A un'altra velocità Passano ancora lenti i treni per Tozeur Nelle chiese abbandonate si preparano rifugi E nuove astronavi per viaggi interstellari In una vecchia miniera distese di sale E un ricordo di me come un incantesimo E per un istante ritorna la voglia di vivere A un'altra velocità Passano ancora lenti i treni per Tozeur Doch wir wollen dir ihn zeigen/Und du wirst... Nei villaggi di frontiera guardano passare I treni per Tozeur I treni di Tozeur © 1985 Franco Battiato & Saro Cosentino "I treni di Tozeur" was written in 1984 and represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest, sung there as a duet by Battiato and Alice. The song placed 5th out of 19, and was commercially successful both in Italy and in Europe more broadly. The lyrics take inspiration from Battiato's travels in the south of Tunisia, where Tozeur is a city and oasis, and specifically refer to a train line known as the North African Orient Express. The German snippet is an excerpt from Mozart's Magic Flute (Act II, Scene 27).

In the frontier towns they watch the trains pass the desert roads of Tozeur. From a distant house your mother sees me, she remembers me, some of my habits. And for an instant the desire returns to live at another speed. The trains bound for Tozeur still pass slowly. In the abandoned churches refugees are prepared and new spaceships for interstellar travel. In an old mine, expanses of salt and a memory of me like a spell. And for an instant the desire returns to live at another speed. The trains bound for Tozeur still pass slowly. Still we want to show him to you, and you will . . . In the frontier towns they watch pass the trains bound for Tozeur. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser Mondi lontanissimi was released in 1985 and was originally conceived as a sort of intergalactic fable. According to Battiato, "The far-distant worlds are the worlds of fantasy, of the planets of our constellation in which perhaps there are other forms of life that we're not able to imagine; also the interior worlds, those levels of awareness that not only can we not imagine but that we waste like the greatest treasure hidden in every individual." Giusto Pio collaborated on the arrangements and on most of the music, and also directed the Milan Symphony Orchestra, whose presence here lends warmth to what is sometimes a certain coldness in Battiato's more synth-heavy work.

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