This Song is Nonsense...But It Has a Message
A 50-year-old song no one can understand is still getting attention
Buongiorno!
I’ve just returned from Italy where I was running a communication workshop for a company’s global retreat.
Before you wonder how good my Italian must be, I will tell you it is “non bene.” The client was a North American company holding their annual retreat in Milan, so thankfully my fluency in British and American English was enough.
When they told me the retreat would be in Milan, I knew instantly that I wanted to include a story about communication and Italy, and began researching in earnest.
But I was struggling to find something I thought would resonate with their global audience.
Then one night, I was watching Ted Lasso when I noticed an unusual song playing during a montage.
I felt like I’d heard the song before, but couldn’t place it.
The more I listened, the more confused I was.
The song was catchy, but what was it saying?!
I was curious.
Well, it turns out the song wasn’t in English, but it gave me a great story to include in my workshop, as it combined a lesson about communication and Italy.
Here’s why…
Our story begins more than 50 years ago, when a musician named Adriano Celetano wanted to write a song.
At the time, Celetano was a popular rock musician in his native Italy, and was obsessed with all things America.
“Ever since I started singing, I was very influenced by American music and everything Americans did,” he said.
He had gained fame performing popular American hits – though he couldn’t actually speak English.
But he decided to channel his enthusiasm for America into a new song – one that would have as its only theme “the inability to communicate.”
Celetano wanted to “break down language barriers” and “inspire people to communicate more.”
“And to do this, I had to write a song where the lyrics didn’t mean anything,” he said.
He started with four drumbeats, put them on a loop, and began improvising.
“I like American slang – which, for a singer, is much easier to sing than Italian,” he said.
He improvised the melody, and the music, then called in the orchestra.
The song he put together was a mix of musical genres – from Europop, house music and disco to hip hop and funk.
He called the song: Prisencolinensinainciusol (pronounced “Preez-en-collie-en-sin-ine-chew-zol”).
The title means nothing, and the lyrics he wrote are gibberish.
You might pick up an “all right” or two in the song, but the rest of the song is unintelligible.
But it’s meant to sound like it’s in English, spoken with an American accent.
American artists were so popular in Italy at that time, and Celetano was curious how much Italian audiences would listen to something if it sounded American.
He first released the song in November of 1972, but it received little attention.
A year later, it was re-released, following a “colorful” performance on Formula Due, an Italian TV show.
[Ed. Note: If you watch this clip, you may understand why Celetano has been likened to a combination of Tom Jones and Jim Carrey.]
Then the song took off.
It became a hit not just in Italy, but also in France, the Netherlands and Belgium.
It even reached the #86 spot on the US charts.
Celetano’s nonsensical song gave him new levels of fame in Italy – and beyond.
He enjoyed a career not just as a musician, but also as a comic actor.
He would go on to sell more than 150 million records, and become one of Italy’s most successful artists of all time.
And for decades, artists from Italy and abroad have been remixing and recording new versions of Prisencolinensinainciusol, from house DJ Fargetta in the 1990s to EDM legend Benny Benassi in 2016.
There’s even an alt-rock version by US-based Tub Ring and a sped-up version by Alien B from Sweden.
And for a song that’s over 50 years old – that no one can understand – it’s still getting a fair amount of attention.
It appeared in a Captain Morgan ad in 2021, and has been featured in TV shows like Fargo, Trust, and Ted Lasso.
But despite the catchy tune (and social media popularity it attracts every few years), the song’s message may be what’s really lost in translation.
“I sang it with an angry tone because the theme was important,” Celetano said. “It was anger born out of resignation.
“I brought to light the fact that people don’t communicate.”
One more thing…
Check out a 74-year-old Celetano performing Prisencolinensinainciusol to thousands at the Verona Arena in 2012.
Another thing I’m curious about…
This jacket caught my eye when I was on the rooftops of the Milan Duomo.
Is this an inside joke I missed?
Either way, being a life enjoyer sounds like a positive thing.
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How Can I Help?
I’ll keep saying it: Communication matters.
And if you want to improve your communication (and get all the good things that come with that), I’m your gal.
So many companies could reap significant benefits – from performance and culture to retention and engagement – by improving their communication.
So, if you know someone who could benefit from some help (as even the most seasoned leaders do), please get in touch and check out my website for more information.
You can also see my Top 10 list of what I can (and can’t) do for you here.
And if you see any communication examples (the good, the bad, and the ugly) that you think are worth analyzing or sharing, please send them my way!
Until next time, Stay Curious!
-Beth
He definitely has dancing skills in a strange sort of way!
Also this one by Franco, where at about 4:30 he goes into a weird fake English James Brown impression https://youtu.be/BgwcOohFMog