Volume I: Preghiera in gennaio - January Prayer

Lascia che sia fiorito Signore, il suo sentiero quando a te la sua anima e al mondo la sua pelle dovrà riconsegnare quando verrà al tuo cielo là dove in pieno giorno risplendono le stelle. Quando attraverserà l'ultimo vecchio ponte ai suicidi dirà baciandoli alla fronte venite in Paradiso là dove vado anch'io perché non c'è l'inferno nel mondo del buon Dio. Fate che giunga a Voi con le sue ossa stanche seguito da migliaia di quelle facce bianche fate che a voi ritorni fra i morti per oltraggio che al cielo ed alla terra mostrarono il coraggio. Signori benpensanti spero non vi dispiaccia se in cielo, in mezzo ai Santi Dio, fra le sue braccia soffocherà il singhiozzo di quelle labbra smorte che all'odio e all'ignoranza preferirono la morte. Dio di misericordia il tuo bel Paradiso l'hai fatto soprattutto per chi non ha sorriso per quelli che han vissuto con la coscienza pura l'inferno esiste solo per chi ne ha paura. Meglio di lui nessuno mai ti potrà indicare gli errori di noi tutti che puoi e vuoi salvare. Ascolta la sua voce che ormai canta nel vento Dio di misericordia vedrai, sarai contento. Dio di misericordia vedrai, sarai contento. Preghiera in gennaio © 1967 Fabrizio De André/Gian Piero Reverberi "Preghiera in gennaio" was written on the occasion of the suicide of Luigi Tenco, a friend and fellow singer/songwriter. Tenco took his life after his song "Ciao amore, ciao" was rejected at the 1967 Sanremo Music Festival, an annual competition for Italian songwriters. At the time, suicide being considered a sin by the Church, a traditional Catholic funeral mass and burial were prohibited. The song itself was influenced by "Prière pour aller au paradis avec les ânes," a poem by Francis Jammes with whom De Andrè probably became familiar by way of Georges Brassens. Luigi Tenco

May blossoms adorn his pathway, Lord, when to you his spirit and to the world his skin he'll have to hand back in, when he comes to your heaven, there where in broad daylight the stars shine bright. When he crosses the last old bridge, to the suicides he will say, kissing them on the forehead, "Come you all to Paradise, there where I too am going, because there's no Hell in the world of the good Lord." Make it so he joins You with his tired bones, followed by thousands of those white faces. Make it so he returns to You, in contempt among the dead who to heaven and to earth displayed their courage. All you right-thinking sirs, I hope it doesn't displease you if in heaven, in midst of the Saints, God, in his embrace, will hush the sob of those pale lips that, over hatred and ignorance, preferred death. God of mercy, your beautiful Paradise you have made, above all, for whoever didn’t smile, for those who lived with a clear conscience. Hell exists only for those who fear it. None better than he can ever show you the errors of us all, whom you can and do want to save. Listen to his voice that now sings in the wind. God of mercy, you will see, you will be pleased. God of mercy, you will see, you will be pleased. English translation © 2014 Dennis Criteser Volume I is De André’s first full studio album, released in 1967 on the Bluebell label. It was produced by Gian Piero Reverberi and Andrea Malcotti. Reverberi shares writing credits on the music of six of the songs.

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