Alice (Francesco De Gregori song)

"Alice"
Single by Francesco De Gregori
from the album Alice non lo sa
Released	1973
Length	3:45
Label	RCA Italiana
Producer(s)	Edoardo De Angelis
Francesco De Gregori singles chronology
"Alice" (1973) "Niente da capire" (1974)
Audio
"Alice" on YouTube

"Alice" is a song by Italian singer Francesco De Gregori, released in 1973. The debut single of De Gregori, it was included in the album Alice non lo sa .

Composition

De Gregori drew inspiration for the lyrics from a variety of sources, including James Joyce's stream of consciousness from Ulysses , Tristan Tzara's poetry, Andy Warhol's works, Michelangelo Antonioni's Blowup and Federico Fellini's 8½ . ^{[1] [2]} The song features five character: the titular Alice (inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ), Irene (to whom De Gregori dedicated a follow-up song included in the same album), Lilli Marlene, Cesare (inspired by Italian poet Cesare Pavese) and an ambiguous bridegroom who, though unnamed, is the central figure of the song, and that years later De Gregori revealed being based on himself. ^[1]

The verse "Il mendicante arabo ha un cancro nel cappello" ('The Arab beggar has cancer under his hat') was turned into "ha qualcosa nel cappello" ('has something in his hat') under pressure from RAI, which otherwise would not have broadcast the song, considering it disturbing. ^{[1] [3]}

Reception

"Alice" premiered at Un disco per l'estate, where it finished in last place. ^{[1] [2]} In spite of this, it gradually climbed the hit parade, and marked the breakout of De Gregori. ^[2]

The song has often been labeled as hermetic, and Italian music critic Dario Salvatori  [ it ] described it as "one of De Gregori's most unsettling songs", presenting a sequence of surreal images "which seem to be layered chaotically, devoid of any logical coherence". ^[3] De Gregori refuted the hermetism label, and claimed the song being closer to "a dadaist poetry or a cubist painting". ^[1] Enrico Deregibus noted "Every verse carries several possible interpretations and every listener can wander through them at will, revisit them and [then] start anew". ^[1]

Other versions

In 2014, De Gregori recorded a new version of the song in a duet with Ligabue. ^[1] Artists who covered the song include Mia Martini, Fiorella Mannoia, Enrico Ruggeri and Schola Cantorum. ^{[1] [3]}

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Alice"	De Gregori	3:45
2.	"I musicanti"	De Gregori	2:08

Charts

Francesco De Gregori original version

Chart (1973)	Peak position
Italy ( Musica e dischi ) [4]	21

Francesco De Gregori ft. Ligabue version

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Italy (FIMI) [5]	38

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI) [6] Sales from 2009	Gold	25,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Deregibus, Enrico (2020). "Alice". Francesco De Gregori. I testi. La storia delle canzoni. Giunti Editore. ISBN   978-88-09-90422-4.
2. Fabretti, Claudio (25 March 2011). Francesco De Gregori: Fra le pagine chiare e le pagine scure (in Italian). LIT Edizioni. ISBN   978-88-6231-637-8.
3. Salvatori, Dario (2001). "Alice". Dizionario delle canzoni italiane. Elle U. pp. 29–30. ISBN   8888169016.
4. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 14 February 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". In the "Artista" field, type "Francesco De Gregori". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "Alice".
5. "Classifica settimanale WK 38 (dal 15.09.2014 al 21.09.2014)". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (in Italian). Retrieved 3 March 2024.
6. "Italian single certifications" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved 22 April 2024.

External links

• Alice at Discogs (list of releases)