The Prisencolinensinainciusol Edition

Colin here. It takes a special kind of talent to make a wormhole pop hit in any language. It takes another type of talent to make one in a made-up language. But that is precisely what Adriano Celentano made with the ridiculously titled Prisencolinensinainciusol, released 50 years ago. It was a troll of sorts, trying to prove a point that Italians would like any English song. 

The tone, diction, and pacing sound exactly like English, but it isn’t. But it actually takes a lot of songwriting talent to pull off what he did. And it goes deeper than just a prank. 

According to Celentano, “Ever since I started singing, I was very influenced by American music and everything Americans did. So at a certain point, because I like American slang—which, for a singer, is much easier to sing than Italian—I thought that I would write a song which would only have as its theme the inability to communicate. And to do this, I had to write a song where the lyrics didn't mean anything."

The song slaps. I can listen to it on repeat. It has weird elements of Dylan, but would also work on a dancefloor. I wouldn’t be surprised if this got played in an ever eclectic Optimo set in Glasgow. 

Why is this interesting? 

Celentano was already a well known rock star in Italy in 1972 when the song was released. According to the FT:

He’d made his name covering popular American hits — in 1960 he appeared as a singer in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, performing “Ready Teddy” by Little Richard. When he came to write “Prisencol…”, his years of experience imitating American English proved useful, since he didn’t speak the language himself. Setting out with the intention to write a song about “the inability to communicate”, he improvised nonsense over a four-loop beat and then added in instruments. The song was also an experiment. At a time when Don McLean’s “Vincent” was dominating the Italian number one spot, Celentano wanted to see whether audiences would listen to anything provided it sounded American.

The song still sounds fresh, and every now and again bubbles up in social media, getting a new life each time it happens. And, according to one of the FT comments, “It's embedded in every Italian psyche at least up to Gen X, and from what we read now even beyond that…” (CJN)

Second Earworm of the Day:

If you’ve never heard the album Disco Jazz, and particularly the track “Aaj Shanibar” do yourself a favor and give it a listen. And when you’re done, read Colin’s excellent WITI on the song from a few years back. (NRB)

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Thanks for reading,

Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN)

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