Anime salve: Anime salve - Saved Souls

Mille anni al mondo mille ancora che bell'inganno sei anima mia e che bello il mio tempo che bella compagnia sono giorni di finestre adornate canti di stagione anime salve in terra e in mare sono state giornate furibonde senza atti d'amore senza calma di vento solo passaggi e passaggi passaggi di tempo ore infinite come costellazioni e onde spietate come gli occhi della memoria altra memoria e non basta ancora cose svanite facce e poi il futuro i futuri incontri di belle amanti scellerate saranno scontri saranno cacce coi cani e coi cinghiali saranno rincorse morsi e affanni per mille anni mille anni al mondo mille ancora che bell'inganno sei anima mia e che grande il mio tempo che bella compagnia mi sono spiato illudermi e fallire abortire i figli come i sogni mi sono guardato piangere in uno specchio di neve mi sono visto che ridevo mi sono visto di spalle che partivo ti saluto dai paesi di domani che sono visioni di anime contadine in volo per il mondo mille anni al mondo mille ancora che bell'inganno sei anima mia e che grande questo tempo che solitudine che bella compagnia Anime salve © 1996 Fabrizio De André/Ivano Fossati "Anime salve" is sung both by De André and Ivano Fossati, who is responsible for most of the music of this song. De André said that he meant for the words "anime" and "salva" to maintain some of their etymological root meanings of "spirit" and "solitary." After two songs about a person and a people who were forced into a kind of marginalized solitude away from the mainstream world, he meant this song to be a hymn to solitude as a choice that can save one's soul from the worst human failings, solitude as a counterbalance to living in the world, a solitude that gives space for better understanding, learning and reflection about the world, a solitude that counters the tendencies towards violence that result from people banding together and identifying as a group, both at the local/social level and at the level of political states.

A thousand years in the world, a thousand still, what a fine deception you are, my soul, and how beautiful my time, what beautiful company. They are days of adorned windows, carols of the season, saved souls on land and at sea. They were furious days without acts of love, without calmness of wind, only passages and passages, passages of time. Infinite hours like constellations and waves, merciless like the eyes of memory. Another memory and it’s still not enough, vanished things, faces, and then the future. Future encounters of beautiful lovers, unholy, will be conflicts, will be hunts with the dogs and the boars, they will be chases, bites and troubles for a thousand years. A thousand years in the world, a thousand still, what a fine deception you are, my soul, and how boundless my time, what beautiful company. I spied myself deceiving myself and failing, aborting children like dreams. I watched myself crying in a mirror of snow, I saw myself that was laughing, I saw myself from the back as I departed. I salute you from domains of tomorrow that are visions of peasant souls en route to the world. A thousand years in the world, a thousand still, what a fine deception you are, my soul, and how great this time, what solitude, what beautiful company. English translation © 2014 Dennis Criteser Anime salve was released in 1996, the last of De André's thirteen studio albums. The songs were co-written by De André and Ivano Fossati, and the studio recording was co-produced by De Andrè and Piero Milesi. De André referred to the album both as "a type of eulogy for solitude" and "a discourse on freedom." Here you will discover an album with De André at his full powers as lyricist and singer with his rich baritone in a musical setting that is striking, musically sophisticated and varied, with musical references to South America, the Balkans and the Mediterranean. The album was voted best Italian album of 1997 by the readers of La Repubblica and critics voted De André as the best Italian artist. The album also received the prestigious Targa Tenco prize for best album of 1997.

Back to Album List         Back to Song List