Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Il Re del Mondo - The King of the World

Strano come il rombo
degli aerei da caccia un tempo
Stonasse con il ritmo
delle piante al sole sui balconi ...
E poi silenzio ... e poi, lontano
Il tuono dei cannoni, a freddo ...
E dalle radio dei segnali in codice

Un giorno in cielo, fuochi di Bengala ...
Ia Pace ritornò
Ma il Re del Mondo
Ci tiene prigioniero il cuore

Nei vestiti bianchi a ruota ...
Echi delle danze sufi ...
Nelle metro giapponesi, oggi
Macchine d'ossigeno
Più diventa tutto inutile
E più credi che sia vero
E il giorno della fine
Non ti servirà l'Inglese

... E sulle biciclette verso casa
La vita ci sfiorò
Ma il Re del Mondo
Ci tiene prigioniero il cuore

Il Re del Mondo © 1979 Franco Battiato

"Il Re del Mondo" refers to a book by René Guénon. One of the mainsprings of Guénon’s thought is the idea that the society of the modern West is not a triumph of evolution (an idea he despised) but rather a reflection of an extremely degenerate age that he equated with the Hindu Kali Yuga, or Age of Darkness. One corollary of this idea is the belief that humanity did have a connection with a sacred centre and hierarchy – in prehistoric times – but this connection has been obscured and to all practical purposes lost. Thus it was natural for Guénon to hold to an idea of a hidden sacred kingdom. “This ‘Holy Land,’ which is defended by guardians who keep it hidden from profane view while ensuring a certain exterior communication, is to all intents and purposes inaccessible and invisible to all except those possessing the necessary qualifications for entry,” he wrote. The song intro is an intriguing mix of time signatures (starting with the first minor chord: 4, 5, 4, 4, 4, 3, then alternating 3-4-3s on the alternating major and minor chords), keeping you a little off balance until the regular groove of the song kicks in.

Strange how the rumble
of the fighter planes one time
clashed with the rhythm
of the plants in the sun on the balconies . . .
and then silence . . . and then, far away
the thunder of cannons, with cold intention . . .
and from the radios some signals in code.

One day in the sky, Bengal sparkler fireworks. . .
peace returned,
but the King of the World
holds prisoner our heart.

In their whirling white garb . . .
echoes of Sufi dances . . .
In Japanese metros, today,
oxygen machines.
The more everything becomes useless,
the more you believe it’s true.
And on the final day
English won’t do you any good.

. . . and on the bicycles near home
life touched us,
but the King of the World
holds prisoner our heart.

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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