Di passaggio - In Transit

ταὐτῷ τ' ἔνι ζῶν και τεθνηκός, καὶ τὸ ἐγρηγορὸς καὶ τὸ καθεῦδον, καὶ νέον καὶ γηραιόν; τάδε γὰρ μεταπεσόντα ἐκεῖνά εστι κἀκεῖνα πάλιν μεταπεσόντα ταῦτα. Passano gli anni I treni, i topi per le fogne I pezzi in radio Le illusioni, le cicogne Passa la gioventù Non te ne fare un vanto: Lo sai che tutto cambia Nulla si può fermare Cambiano i regni Le stagioni, i presidenti, le religioni Gli urlettini dei cantanti... E intanto passa ignaro Il vero senso della vita Si cambia amore, idea, umore Per noi che siamo solo di passaggio L'Informazione, il Coito, la Locomozione Diametrali Delimitazioni Settecentoventi Case Soffia la Verità Nel Libro della Formazione Passano gli alimenti Le voglie, i santi, i malcontenti Non ci si può bagnare Due volte nello stesso fiume Né prevedere i cambiamenti di costume E intanto passa ignaro Il vero senso della vita Ci cambiano capelli, denti e seni A noi che siamo solo di passaggio εἴπας 'Ἥλιε χαῖρε᾽ Κλεόμβροτος Ὡμβρακιώτης ἥλατ᾽ ἀφ᾽ ὑψηλοῦ τείχεος εἰς Ἀίδην, ἄξιον οὐδὲν ἰδὼν θανάτου κακόν, ἀλλὰ Πλάτωνος ἀλλὰ Πλάτωνος Di passagio © 1996 Franco Battiato & Manlio Sgalambro "Di passaggio" took inspiration from a Sufi story, wherein a young seeker comes to meet a Master who lives in a remote and desolate location, in a dwelling devoid of furnishings and decor. The young seeker, surprised by the starkness, asks, "But you live here? Without furniture, without anything?" The Master asks what furnishings the young seeker has with him, who then replies "But I'm in transit." The Master's retort - "Me too!" The song begins with Sgalambro reciting a fragment in ancient Greek from Heraclitus, he of "no man steps in the same river twice" fame. The music kicks in, announcing the new rock-guitar sound of this phase of Battiato's career. The song also closes in Greek, with Battiato and Antonella Ruggiero reciting most of Epigram XXV from Callimachus, scholar-poet of the Hellenistic age (the complete epigram ends with "but he had read one writing of Plato’s, On the Soul.").

It is the same thing to be living and to be dead, to be awake and to be sleeping, and to be young and to be old; because the one falls into the other and the other again falls into the one. The years pass, the trains, the rats in the sewers, the pieces on the radio, the illusions, the storks. Youth passes, there’s nothing to brag about: You know that everything changes, nothing can stay still. Kingdoms change, the seasons, presidents, religions the squeals of the singers . . . and instead, unaware passes the true meaning of life. Love changes, idea, humor, for us who are only in transit. Information, Coitus, Locomotion Diametrical Delimitations, 720 houses. The Truth blows in the Book of Training. The groceries pass, the cravings, the saints, the malcontents. One can’t bathe two times in the same river, nor foresee the changes of costume. And instead, unaware passes the true meaning of life. Our hair, teeth and breasts change, for us who are only in transit. Farewell, O Sun, said Cleombrotus of Ambracia, leaping off a high wall into Hades. Nothing bad had he seen worthy of death, but Plato’s . . . but Plato's . . . English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser L'imboscata (The Ambush) was released in 1996. It marked another change of direction for Battiato, returning to the world of rock and the electric guitar after his turn into classical music sonorities beginning in 1986. He also felt a desire to connect to a larger popular audience (the sales of his previous album were the lowest of all his pop albums going back to 1979; L'imboscata became the second best selling album of the year). The album cover is a painting by Antoine-Jean Gros - Napoleon at the Pyramids. Like the previous album, the lyrics were by the Sicilian philosopher Manlio Sgalambro, with Battiato's input on "Di passaggio" and "La cura." The album was dedicated to the writer Gesualdo Bufalino, a close friend of Battiato's.

Back to Album List         Back to Song List