Risveglio di primavera - Awakening of Springtime

La presenza dell'artiglieria Nei paesi del meridione Uniti nella lotta allo straniero Sotto il Regno delle Due Sicilie E i movimenti prevedibili Delle truppe in finte battaglie L'odore della polvere da sparo E voci dallo stretto di Messina Sentimenti occulti tra noi Mi innamorai Seguendo i ritmi del cuore E mi svegliai in primavera Notti bianche per i Saraceni Ch'erano di facili costumi Locande chiuse ai Greci e agli Spagnoli Nei dintorni di Catania E i movimenti irresistibili Dei bacini delle ragazze Vedere ballare il flamenco Era un'esperienza sensualissima Sentimenti occulti tra noi Mi innamorai Seguendo i ritmi del cuore E mi svegliai in primavera Risveglio di primavera Risveglio di primavera © 1985 Franco Battiato "Risveglio di primavera" shares its title with a play of the same name by the German playwright Frank Wedekind, though the play and the song are of opposite tone. The historic details in the verses range from the many foreign dominations of Sicily to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies just before the Italian unification. The chorus speaks of an innocent and wholesome awakening of love/sex (unlike the play), but whenever Battiato talks about "waking up," one must also be aware of the Gurdjieffian overtones, which point to a spiritual awakening from the state of deep sleep that all people live their lives in . . . until they wake up to remember their true self.

The presence of the artillery in the towns of the south united in the fight against the foreigner under the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. And the predictable movements of the troops in fake battles, the smell of the gunpowder, and voices from the Strait of Messina. Hidden sentiments between us. I fell in love following the rhythms of the heart and I woke up in springtime. White nights for the Saracens who were of simple garb. Inns closed to the Greeks and Spaniards on the outskirts of Catania. And the irresistible movements of the hips of the girls – seeing Flamenco dancing was a most sensual experience. Hidden sentiments between us. I fell in love following the rhythms of the heart and I woke up in springtime. Awakening of springtime. 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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