Zitti e buoni

Lyrics & Music by Damiano David, Ethan Torchio, Thomas Raggi, and Victoria de Angelis, 2021.

Loro non sanno di che parlo
voi siete sporchi, fra’, di fango
giallo di siga fra le dita
io con la siga camminando
scusami ma ci credo tanto
che posso fare questo salto
e anche se la strada è in salita
per questo ora mi sto allenando

E buonasera signore e signori, fuori gli attori
vi conviene toccarvi i coglioni
vi conviene stare zitti e buoni
qui la gente è strana tipo spacciatori
troppe notti stavo chiuso fuori
mo li prendo a calci ‘sti portoni
sguardo in alto tipo scalatori
quindi scusa mamma se sto sempre fuori, ma

Sono fuori di testa ma diverso da loro
e tu sei fuori di testa ma diversa da loro
siamo fuori di testa ma diversi da loro
siamo fuori di testa ma diversi da loro, no…

Io, ho scritto pagine e pagine
ho visto sale poi lacrime
questi uomini in macchina
non scalare le rapide
scritto sopra una lapide
in casa mia non c’è Dio
ma se trovi il senso del tempo
risalirai dal tuo oblio
e non c’è vento che fermi
la naturale potenza
dal punto giusto di vista
del vento senti l’ebrezza
con ali in cera alla schiena
ricercherò quell’altezza
se vuoi fermarmi ritenta
prova a tagliarmi la testa perché

Sono fuori di testa ma diverso da loro
e tu sei fuori di testa ma diversa da loro
siamo fuori di testa ma diversi da loro
siamo fuori di testa ma diversi da loro…

Parla, la gente purtroppo parla
non sa di che cosa parla
tu portami dove sto a galla
che qui mi manca l’aria
parla, la gente purtroppo parla
con sa di che cosa parla
tu portami dove sto a galla
che qui mi manca l’aria
parla, la gente purtroppo parla
non sa di che cazzo parla
tu portami dove sto a galla
che qui mi manca l’aria ma

Sono fuori di testa ma diverso da loro
e tu sei fuori di testa ma diversa da loro
siamo fuori di testa ma diversi da loro
siamo fuori di testa ma diversi da loro, ah

noi siamo diversi da loro

Be Quiet and Behave

Translated by: Francesco Ciabattoni

They don’t know what I’m talking about
you’re dirty, bro, with mud
fingers yellow from cigs
me walking with a cig
sorry but I believe in it so much
that I can make this leap
and even if the road is uphill
that’s what I’m training for

And good evening ladies and gentlemen, out with the actors
you’d better grab your balls
you’d better keep quiet and behave
people here are weird like drug dealers
too many nights I was locked out
I’m gonna kick these doors
I’ll look up like climbers
so sorry mom if I’m always out, but

I’m out of my mind, but different from them
and you are out of your mind, but different from them
we are out of our minds, but different from them
we are out of our minds, but different from them, no…

I wrote pages and pages
I saw salt then tears
these men in the car
do not climb the rapids
written on a stone
there is no God in my house
but if you find the sense of time
you will rise from oblivion
and there is no wind that can stop
the natural power
from the right point of view
feel the thrill of the wind
with wax wings on your back
I will strive for that height
if you want to stop me try again
you may have to cut off my head because

They talk, sadly people talk
They don’t know what they’re talking about
take me where I can float
‘cause I can’t breathe here
they talk, sadly people talk
they don’t know what they’re talking about
take me where I can float
‘cause I can’t breathe here
they talk, sadly people talk
they don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about
take me where I can float
‘cause I can’t breathe here but

we are different from them.

The artist:

Måneskin

By Francesco Ciabattoni (Georgetown University)

Born in Rome, Måneskin’s international success exploded in 2021 and is almost unprecedented in the history of Italian rock or pop: the four musicians—Damiano David (vocals), Victoria De Angelis (bass), Thomas Raggi (guitar) and Ethan Torchio (drums )— have come to world prominence after their participation in X Factor Italia in 2017, under the guidance of Manuel Agnelli, historical founder of the Afterhours.

A recent interview on NPR presents the band’s bilingual repertoire and beginnings—perhaps a bit romanticized by Damiano and Victoria—as street buskers in Italy’s Capital. These days we could say that America views Italy and Italian music through Måneskin. Could it be precisely because the Roman band feeds on American music and has an American—and therefore global—sound quite familiar to overseas audiences? The band hardly ever makes reference to Italian songwriters or rock artists. It is true that Damiano David declared on Flaunt that he likes listening to Toto Cutugno’s “L’Italiano,” which is certainly an iconic piece, albeit a little too Sanremo-esque for a rock, hip hop, metal band, and especially for Damiano, who elsewhere claims to listen to Steven Tyler, who debuted on YouTube with a cover of Selah Sue’s “Raggamuffin” and who often appears on camera saying “Esketit” (a slang expression from “Let’s get it,” which has become the title of a song by Lil’ Pump). One suspects that Måneskin’s lead singer might have wanted to mislead readers to avoid being pigeonholed…. Or perhaps it is this writer who cannot explain Damiano David’s sincere appreciation for the singer from Fosdinovo.

From their second album onwards, Måneskin have taken an active role in writing all the songs, alternating lyrics in English and Italian. Damiano sometimes sings in a heavy rock style, muddying his voice just a little. Although English has been part of Måneskin’s repertoire since their first album (“Fear Nobody,” “Are You Ready?,” “Sh*t Blvd,” from Il Ballo della vita, 2018) their debut on the American market only came in 2021 with their cover of the Four Seasons’ “Beggin’.” However, with Rush (2023) they climbed the international charts, solidly placing themselves on the wall of global rock fame and achieving popularity in Europe, America, and Japan.

Experimenting with a variety of musical genres ranging from acoustic to hard and glam rock, and with themes ranging from love with a rather erotic bent (“For Your Love ”), to the rejection of strictly binary gender, to generational rebellion (“Vent’anni”) and claiming an independent space and voice (“Zitti e buoni”). But some songs also bear traces of a more traditional songwriting style (“Coraline”), or they lean toward the pop ballad (“Torna a casa”). Måneskin have attracted success and even fierce criticism (by world-famous violinist Uto Ughi, as well as critical reviews appearing in Rolling Stones and The Atlantic). As for songs in Italian, which comprised the majority of the band’s repertoire until 2022, the linguistic register stands out above all for its strong diaphasic and diastratic variations. The song that launched them on the international scene by winning the Eurovision Song Contest (“Zitti e buoni”, from Teatro d’ira – Vol. I, 2021) is full of youthful slang (“bro”, “cig”, “out of your mind”) , crude colloquialisms (“I’m gonna kick these doors”), and profanity (“You’d better grab your balls”, “he doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about”). But in general, the Roman band’s third album experiments widely with different genres and styles, and it would be limiting to attribute specific labels to them; nevertheless, the impression is that, for the time being, they show a greater interest in sound and image over perfectly crafted song lyrics. And from this point of view, Måneskin’s talents continue to grow with each release, free from the fear of challenging conventions.

Read all the translations of Måneskin