Stranizza d'amuri - Strangeness of Love

'Ndo vadduni da Scammacca I carritteri ogni tantu Lassaunu i loru bisogni E i muscuni ci abbulaunu supra Jeumu a caccia di lucettuli ... A litturina da Ciccum-Etnea I saggi ginnici, 'u Nabuccu A scola sta finennu Man manu ca passunu i jonna Sta frevi mi trasi 'nda ll'ossa Ccu tuttu ca fora c'è a guerra Mi sentu stranizza d'amuri L'amuri E quannu t'ancontru 'nda strata Mi veni 'na scossa 'ndo cori Ccu tuttu ca fora si mori Na mori stranizza d'amuri L'amuri E quannu t'ancontru 'nda strata Mi veni 'na scossa 'ndo cori Ccu tuttu ca fora si mori Na mori stranizza d'amuri L'amuri Man manu ca passunu i jonna Sta frevi mi trasi 'nda ll'ossa Ccu tuttu ca fora c'è a guerra Mi sentu stranizza d'amuri L'amuri Stranizza d'amuri © 1979 Franco Battiato "Stranizza d'amuri" is in the Sicilian dialect, and is somewhat of a rarity for Battiato - a love song - though not the schmaltzy type that eventually turned him off when he was trying to establish himself as a singer in the period from 1965-1968. The song is in 7/4 time, which is quite unusual; Pink Floyd's "Money" is another such song.

In Scammacca Valley the wagoners every so often did their business and the mosquitos flew over. We went on lizard hunts . . . the boxcar of the Circumetnea the gym tests, Nabucco, school is wrapping up. Gradually as the days pass this fever enters my bones. Even if outside there’s a war, I feel a strangeness of love. Love. And when I meet you on the street, comes a tremor in my heart, and even if outside there is dying, this strangeness of love doesn’t die. Love. And when I meet you on the street, comes a tremor in my heart, and even if outside there is dying, this strangeness of love doesn’t die. Love. Gradually as the days pass this fever enters my bones. Even if outside there’s a war, I feel a strangeness of love. Love. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser L'Era del Cinghiale Bianco was released in 1979 and represented a 180-degree turn from Battiato's first eight avant-garde albums, which ranged from electronica to musique concrète to minimalist piano explorations. Battiato reinvented himself as a pop singer/songwriter and in so doing created a unique sound and style he would continue to rework for the rest of his career. The songs on this album introduce several touchstones for Battiato, with references to spirituality, ancient and modern history, Arabic culture, and his native Sicily. Violinist Giusto Pio collaborated on the arrangements. The constellation that we call the Age of Aquarius was once that of the Boar. In the Celtic tradition, the White Boar symbolized spiritual knowledge, or Consciousness.

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