Bandiera bianca explained

Bandiera bianca
Cover:Bandiera bianca cover.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Franco Battiato
Album:La voce del padrone
B-Side:Summer on a Solitary Beach
Released:1981
Genre:Pop, New wave
Length:5:19
Label:EMI Italiana
Prev Title:L'era del cinghiale bianco
Prev Year:1979
Next Title:I treni di Tozeur
Next Year:1984

"Bandiera bianca" is a 1981 song by Italian singer-songwriter Franco Battiato, the only single from his best-selling album La voce del padrone.

Background

The song is considered a follow-up of Battiato's 1980 song "Up Patriots to Arms": while in the former he asked the public to mobilize against stupidity, here he polemically and pessimistically surrenders to it.[1] It was first presented live, during the last dates of the "Patriots" summer tour, and officially premiered at the in Venice in September 1981.[2]

Lyrics

The song opens with citations of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'", and includes references to Alan Sorrenti's "Figli delle stelle", Gino Latilla's "Tutte le mamme" and The Doors' "The End". The refrain is a citation of Arnaldo Fusinato's 1849 poem L'ultima ora di Venezia, while the closure cites Theodor W. Adorno's book title Minima Moralia, which gets twisted into "Minima Immoralia".

Track listing

Lyrics by Franco Battiato; Music by Franco Battiato and Giusto Pio

Notes and References

  1. Book: Zuffanti . Fabio . Franco Battiato: Tutti i dischi e tutte le canzoni, dal 1965 al 2019 . 30 June 2020 . LIT Edizioni . 978-88-6231-868-6 . it . Bandiera bianca.
  2. Book: Spessato . Carla . Franco Battiato: Come un incantesimo . 20 October 2021 . Giunti . 978-88-09-95527-1 . it . Bandiera bianca.
  3. Web site: Classifiche. Musica e Dischi. it. 29 May 2023. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "Bandiera bianca".