"Azzurro" (; ) is an Italian

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

song composed by

Paolo Conte Paolo Conte (; born 6 January 1937) is an Italian singer, pianist, songwriter and lawyer, known for his distinctly grainy, resonant voice. His compositions fuse Italian and Mediterranean sounds with jazz, boogie and elements of the French and ...

Vito Pallavicini Vito Pallavicini (22 April 1924 – 16 August 2007) was an Italian lyricist. Biography Born in Vigevano, Pallavicini started his career as a journalist, founding in 1950 the local weekly magazine ''L'informatore vigevanese''.Giannelli, Enzo. ...

and Michele Virano. Its most famous version was recorded by

Adriano Celentano Adriano Celentano (; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian singer-songwriter, actor, showman, and filmmaker. He is dubbed ''Il Molleggiato'' ('the springy one') because of his energetic dancing. Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both com ...

in 1968.

Background

Conte and Pallavicini wrote "Azzurro" especially for Celentano. The song describes a lonely summer in the city. Structurally it typically reflects Conte's writing style, combining simple and catchy melodies with unusual elements, like the military march music bit in the middle. Conte would record the song himself in 1985, ten years into his own solo career as a performer. Together with " Via con me" and "Sotto le stelle del Jazz", it is now one of his most popular songs.

Lyrics

The first line of the chorus goes: "Azzurro, il pomeriggio è troppo azzurro e lungo per me..." ("Blue, the afternoon is too long and blue for me..."). Note that, in Italian, ''azzurro'' does not bear the negative connotation of "depressing" that ''blue'' has in English.

Charts

Certifications

Cover versions

The song was covered by numerous Italian singers, like Mina,

Gianni Morandi Gian Luigi "Gianni" Morandi (; born 11 December 1944) is an Italian pop singer, actor and entertainer. It is estimated that Morandi has sold about 50 million recordings. Early life Born in Monghidoro, Emilia-Romagna, the son of a cobbler, Mor ...

and Fiorello. Even the Italian football national team has sung the song on one occasion. German covers were done by

Peter Rubin Sir Peter Charles Rubin (born 21 November 1948) is a doctor and was the Chair of the General Medical Council (GMC) of the United Kingdom from 2009–2014. A consultant physician and professor of therapeutics at the University of Nottingham sinc ...

Die Toten Hosen Die Toten Hosen are a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf. The name is taken from the German slang idiom ''tote Hose'' (literally "dead trousers"), which means "nothing happening"; "boring". The band has had an important success through th ...

Peter Alexander Peter Alexander may refer to: * Pete Alexander (born Grover Cleveland Alexander; 1887–1950), American baseball player * Peter Alexander (Shakespearean scholar) (1893–1969), professor of English language and literature at the University of Glasgo ...

and Rummelsnuff. French cover by Régine. Spanish cover by Gabinete Caligari. Czech cover by

Waldemar Matuška Waldemar Matuška (; 2 July 1932 – 30 May 2009) was a Czech singer who became popular in his homeland during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1986, he immigrated to the United States. Early career Waldemar Matuška was born Vladislav Matuška on 2 Jul ...

, (lyrics by

Zdeněk Borovec Zdeněk is a Czech male given name derived from the Latin name Sidonius. contested the relation with the Latin name, and an alternative etymology is a diminutive of Zdeslav.Jan Svoboda, Staročeská osobní jména se základem sd , sdě-, :Onom ...

). Hungarian cover by László Aradszky (lyrics by Kálmán Vándor). In the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, German F1 driver

Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Vettel won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from to with Red Bull, and rema ...

sang a farewell song to his Ferrari team after the final race for them, which was based on the song.

Arik Einstein cover

In Israel, it is a famous song known for its Hebrew version by

Arik Einstein Arieh Lieb "Arik" Einstein ( ; (3 January 1939 – 26 November 2013) was an Israeli singer, songwriter, actor, comedian and screenwriter. He was a pioneer of Israeli rock music and was named "the voice of Israel." Through both high public and c ...

"Amru Lo" (Hebrew: "They told him..."). The lyrics, by prominent Israeli songwriter

Eli Mohar Eli Mohar (; 30 December 1948 – 30 November 2006) was an Israeli songwriter and columnist. Biography Eli Mohar was born in Tel Aviv. His father was Yechiel Mohar. He was a member of HaMahanot HaOlim youth movement and studied at A.D. Gordon S ...

, do not feature a translation of the original lyrics; Instead, the Hebrew version humorously tells the life story of a youngster who chooses a precarious career as an artist and becomes a fan of an underdog sports team, despite having always been told to "choose the correct path in life" - a reference to Arik Einstein's own life story.

Wolfgang Lohr cover

In 2023, German house artist Wolfgang Lohr released a modern electro swing cover of the classic Italian song "Azzurro," originally popularized by Adriano Celentano. This reinterpretation, created in collaboration with Club27 and vocalist Renato Legato, brings a fresh, danceable twist to the iconic tune. Lohr’s rendition infuses "Azzurro" with upbeat electronic swing elements, merging vintage Italian charm with contemporary electronic beats. The cover has garnered attention for its innovative approach, blending the nostalgic essence of the original with Lohr's characteristic house style, and has been well received in the electro swing and European dance music communities.

Die Toten Hosen cover

"Azzurro" (on many releases mistitled "Azzuro") was covered by

for the album '' Auf dem Kreuzzug ins Glück'' as a tribute to

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

. The single was released with differently coloured covers:

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

and

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...

Music video

The video was directed by Hanns Christian Müller. The band drives around

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in an

Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...

, having to push-start it every time. In the end it gets stolen right before them.

Track listing

# "Azzurro" (Conte, Virano/Conte, Pallavicini) − 2:32 # "Herzlichen Glückwunsch" (''Sincere congratulation'') (v. Holst/Frege) – 2:03 # "Dr. Sommer" (''Dr. Summer'') (Breitkopf/Frege) – 1:57 # "Feinde" (''Enemies'') (Frege/Frege) – 2:20

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1990 singles Italian pop songs Songs in Italian Die Toten Hosen songs Adriano Celentano songs Songs with lyrics by Vito Pallavicini 1968 songs Virgin Records singles Number-one singles in Italy Songs with music by Paolo Conte