Prisencolinensinainciusol

"Prisencolinensinainciusol"
Single by Adriano Celentano
from the album Nostalrock
B-side "Disc Jockey"
Released 3 November 1972 (1972-11-03)
Format 45 rpm single
Genre Experimental music
Length 3:54
Label Italdisc
Writer(s) Adriano Celentano
Adriano Celentano singles chronology
"La ballata di Pinocchio"
(1972)
"Prisencolinensinainciusol"
(1972)
"L'unica chance"
(1973)

"Prisencolinensinainciusol" [prizeŋkolinensinainˈtʃuːzol] is a song composed by Adriano Celentano, and performed by Celentano and his wife, singer/actress-turned-record producer Claudia Mori. A very popular performance of the song, broadcast by RAI, shows Celentano with showgirl Raffaella Carrà, who is dancing and lip-synching to Mori's vocals. It was first released as a single on November 3, 1972, and later on his album Nostalrock.

Language

The song is meant to sound to its intended Italian audience like English spoken with an American accent, but the lyrics are actually pure gibberish, with the exception of the words "all right".[1] Celentano's intention with the song was to explore communications barriers. "Ever since I started singing, I was very influenced by American music and everything Americans did. So at a certain point, because I like American slang—which, for a singer, is much easier to sing than Italian—I thought that I would write a song which would only have as its theme the inability to communicate. And to do this, I had to write a song where the lyrics didn't mean anything."[2]

Releases

The song was recorded at least twice for television broadcast. The song has been included on the 2008 dance compilation album Poplife Presents: Poplife Sucks.[3]

In 1992, remixes of the song by Molella and Fargetta were released on CD Single, along with the original version, to promote the compilation Superbest.

It was a nascent Internet meme in the early 2000s,[4] having been posted on Boing Boing in December 2009[5] and subsequently picked up by the Italian press.[6]

The song was used in a September, 2014 US television commercial for the Xbox One game Forza Horizon 2. The commercial was produced by Smuggler.

Remake

Celentano made a remake with real, Italian lyrics on his disc Quel Punto. The song's name is Il Seme del Rap and it can be seen as a hip hop parody. French actor José Garcia interpreted a portion of the song in the movie Quelqu'un de bien (2002). The full version was released as a single in France as Prisencoli.[7] Italian songwriter Bugo made a remake in 2008, played successfully all over Italy during his tour.[8]

Track listing

  1. "Prisencolinensinainciusol" (Adriano Celentano) – 3:54
  2. "Disc Jockey" (Luciano Beretta, Adriano Celentano, Miki Del Prete) – 4:54

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1973-74) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 4
France (SNEP)[11] 6
Germany (Official German Charts)[12] 46
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 5
Italy (FIMI)[14]5

Year-end charts

Chart (1974) Peak
position
Italy (FIMI)[14]14

See also

References

  1. Kroes, Rob (1993). Cultural Transmissions and Receptions: American Mass Culture in Europe. Austin Tex.: Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center. p. 147. ISBN 978-90-5383-207-3.
  2. Raz, Guy (4 November 2012). "It's Gibberish, But Italian Pop Song Still Means Something". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  3. Anderson, Rick. "Review Poplife Presents: Poplife Sucks". Allmusic. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  4. Celentano conquista i blogger americani. Wired Italy. 2009-12-18.
  5. Doctorow, Cory. "Review Gibberish rock song written by Italian composer to sound like English". BoingBoing. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  6. "Review Usa, scoppia la Celentano-mania tutti pazzi per un brano del '72". "LaStampa". Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  7. José Garcia - Prisencoli (Extrait de « Quelqu'un de bien »). Youtube.com. 2011-10-01.
  8. Bugo /// Prisencolinensinainciusol (Adriano Celentano) . Youtube.com.
  9. "Prisencolinensinainciusol/Disc Jockey" (in Italian). Discografia Nazionale della Canzone Italiana. Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  10. "Ultratop.be – Adriano Celentano – Prisencolinensinainciusol" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  11. "Les Chansons - Détail par Artiste - C" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 25 August 2013. Select Adriano CELENTANO, then press OK.
  12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Adriano Celentano – Prisencolinensinainciusol". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  13. "Dutchcharts.nl – Adriano Celentano – Prisencolinensinainciusol" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  14. 1 2 "I singoli più venduti del 1974" (in Italian). hitparadeitalie.it. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
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