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"Auschwitz" is a song composed by
Francesco Guccini Francesco Guccini (; born 14 June 1940) is an Italian singer-songwriter, actor, and writer. During the five decades of his music career he has recorded 16 studio albums and collections, and 6 live albums. He is also a writer, having published ...
, and originally performed by
Equipe 84 Equipe 84 () were an Italian beat band formed in 1964 in Modena. The name was originally suggested by a friend of the band, Pier Farri. ''Equipe'' was thought to be a word that would resonate more easily outside of their home country, and thoug ...
. It was first released as the B-side of a cover of
Sonny & Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of spouses Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as rhythm and blues, R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. ...
's "
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" is the second single by American singer-actress Cher from her second album, '' The Sonny Side of Chér'' (1966). It was written by her husband Sonny Bono and released in 1966. It reached No. 3 in the UK Singles ...
", and later included in Equipe 84's album ''Io ho in mente te''. Although the song was written by Guccini it was credited to Lunero and Maurizio Vandelli as the author at the time was not a member of the
SIAE The Italian Society of Authors and Publishers (SIAE) is a non-profit collective management organization in the form of a public economic entity with an associative basis, responsible for protecting intellectual works and managing copyright int ...
. The following year the song was later recorded by Francesco Guccini and included in his debut album '' Folk beat n. 1'', with the title "La canzone del bambino nel vento (Auschwitz)" ('The song of the child in the wind'). Guccini's authorship of the song was first acknowledged only in 1967, and officially recognized after a 30 years long trial.


Inspiration and content

"Auschwitz" was the first Italian song about
the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
. Guccini was inspired to compose the song after reading the Edward Russell's essay ''The Scourge of the swastika: A Short History of Nazi War Crimes'' (translated into Italian in 1955) and the
autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel, also known as an autobiographical fiction, fictional autobiography, or autobiographical fiction novel, is a type of novel which uses autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The ...
by
Vincenzo Pappalettera Vincenzo Pappalettera (November 28, 1919 in Milan – December 1, 1998 in Cesano Maderno) was an Italian writer and historian, notable for his firsthand account of his imprisonment in the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp during the Second World ...
'' Tu passerai per il camino''Vincenzo Pappalettera, ''Tu passerai per il cammino- Vita e morte a Mauthausen'', Milan, 1965 (''You Are Going Through the Chimney – Life and death at Mauthausen '') where Pappalettera recounted his memoirs about his imprisonment in the
Mauthausen concentration camp Mauthausen was a German Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 f ...
. The song includes several citations of
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
's "
Blowin' in the Wind "Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962. It was released as a single and included on his album '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in 1963. It has been described as a protest song and poses a series of rhetorical questions about ...
". The lyrics are narrated by two voices: the
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
, a child who in the
Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
"''died with another hundred, passed through a chimney and is now in the wind''", and the author, who poses some rhetoric questions to which there is no answer.


Track listing

*7" single – SRL 10-438 # "Bang bang" (
Sonny Bono Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono ( ; February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998) was an American singer, songwriter, actor, and politician. In partnership with his second wife, Cher, he formed the singing duo Sonny & Cher. A member of the Republican Pa ...
Alessandro Colombini and
Miki Del Prete Michele "Miki" Del Prete (born 23 July 1935) is an Italian lyricist and record producer. Born in Bari, at young age he moved to Milan with his family, following the transfer of his father, a footballer, from A.S. Bari to Calcio Como. In the 1950s ...
)
– 2:25 # "Auschwitz" (F. Guccini) – 3:47


Notable covers

* 1992:
Nomadi Nomadi (or I Nomadi, meaning "Nomads") is an Italian band formed in 1963 and still present on the music scene. Career Origins In 1961, Beppe Carletti and Leonardo Manfredini formed the group I Monelli (‘Urchins’). In 1962, Carletti met Fra ...
(album ''Ma che film la vita'') * 1994:
Rod MacDonald Rod MacDonald (born August 17, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, novelist, and educator. He was a "big part of the 1980s folk revival in Greenwich Village clubs", performing at the Speakeasy, The Bottom Line (venue), The Bottom Line, Fol ...
, English version with the title "Auschwitz (Bambino nel Vento)" (album ''Man on the Ledge'') * 1997:
Gian Pieretti Dante Luca Pieretti (born 12 May 1940), better known as Gian Pieretti, is an Italian singer-songwriter and composer, mainly successful in the second half of the 1960s. Life and career Born in Ponte Buggianese, in 1963 Pieretti released his firs ...
(album ''Caro Bob Dylan...'') * 2003:
Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
(album ''
Viaggio in Italia ''Journey to Italy'', also known as ''Voyage to Italy'', is a 1954 drama film directed by Roberto Rossellini. Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders play Katherine and Alex Joyce, a childless English married couple on a trip to Italy whose marriage i ...
'') * 2005:
Modena City Ramblers Modena City Ramblers (also known as M.C.R.) is an Italian folk rock band founded in 1991. Their music is heavily influenced by Celtic themes, and can be compared to folk rock music. The band has sold over 500,000 albums. Known for their left-wing ...
(album ''Appunti partigiani'') * 2013: (album ''Neve diventeremo'') * 2017:
Vittorio De Scalzi New Trolls are an Italian progressive rock band, known for their fusion of rock and classical music. In a way not too dissimilar from fellow prog-rock band Yes, their history is filled with line-up changes, spin-off projects and personal struggl ...
and
Mauro Pagani Mauro Pagani (born 5 February 1946) is an Italian people, Italian musician and singer. Pagani was born in Chiari, Lombardy, Chiari, Lombardy. A multi-instrumentalist, he made his debut in the music world in 1970 in music, 1970 as violinist and f ...
(album ''Fra la via Aurelia e il West'') * 2019:
Elisa The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay is a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of ...
(album ''Note di viaggio N. 1'')


References

{{Authority control 1966 singles Italian songs 1966 songs Songs about the Holocaust Anti-war songs Francesco Guccini songs Ricordi Dischi singles