Il Pulcino Pio Explained

Il pulcino Pio
Cover:Il-pulcino-pio-italian-version.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Pulcino Pio
Album:Il Pulcino Pio & Friends
Language:Italian
Genre:Children's song
Length:2:40
Label:Globo Records
Lyricist:
  • Alessandro Tirocchi
  • Bruno Benvenuti
  • Lucio Scarpa
  • Maurizio Paniconi
  • Morgana Giovannetti
Composer:uncertain

"Il Pulcino Pio" (in English version titled as "The Little Chick Cheep") is an Italian song released as a single on 18 July 2012 on Globo Records by the Rome radio station Radio Globo. The song was interpreted by Morgana Giovannetti, an actress and host of the station.

The song became a hit single in Italy topping the FIMI Singles Chart and staying at top for 8 consecutive weeks (2012 August–October). It also became a hit in France, Spain, the Netherlands, and other European countries in their respective local language versions.

It is a remake of a Brazilian children's song from the 1950s post-war period, known by various names, including "Na Minha Casa Tem...", "A Minha Velha (Tem um Pintinho)", "O Pintinho Piu."[1] [2] [3]

Background

The rights to the song were acquired by Globo Records S.r.l. The song was produced by Bruno Benvenuti and Max Moroldo. Lyrics were translated into Italian by Bruno Benvenuti, Lucio Scarpa, Alessandro Tirocchi, and Maurizio Paniconi. Vocals were provided by Morgana Giovannetti.

Radio Globo had previously scored a hit by releasing its own version of "Mr. Saxobeat," featuring Maurizio Paniconi, Alessandro Tirocchi, and Morgana Giovannetti and produced by Lucio Scarpa. Named "Radio Globo Morning Show - Mr. Saxobeat Ostia Beach version"), the Radio Globo Italian version.

The station followed up with "Il pulcino Pio," featuring Morgana Giovannetti, during their Morning Show, based on a Brazilian tune. In similar fashion to "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," "Il pulcino Pio" features sounds of a hen, a rooster, a turkey, a pigeon, a cat, a dog, a goat, a lamb, a cow and a bull. However, in the Portuguese version, a deer is included, a lamb is replaced to a male goat and the pigeon is replaced with a guinea fowl. The song culminates with a tractor hitting and running over the chirping chick.

Reception

After the huge success of the Italian version of the song, a more racy faster version was produced with an accompanying music video by Do It Yourself Multimedia Group S.r.l. with animation created by Federico Mancosu. It was launched online in May 2012. The YouTube music video for the Spanish version of the song attracted more than 6 million views in the three months that followed and has been viewed over 1.5 billion times as of July 2023.[4] After the popularity of the single in France, a compilation album was released in February 2013 called Piou Piou Dance Party (2013) featuring a number of local French and international hits of the previous year. The album entered the SNEP French Albums Chart at #10 in its first week of release.

On 17 September 2012, Radio Globo launched an alternative version called "La Vendetta" in which the chirping chick takes revenge on the tractor that ran over it in the original music video. The Pulcino Pio character and distinctive voice was used in other releases as well in different settings. For example, the follow-up single "Superstar" features Pulcino Pio, now a big star.

Charts

Besides Italy, the song has charted in other countries. In November 2012, the French station NRJ promoted the song heavily resulting in chart success in France.

Year-end charts

Chart (2012)Position
France (SNEP)[5] 163
Italy (FIMI)[6] 3
Chart (2013)Position
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[7] 77
France (SNEP)[8] 118
Germany (Official German Charts)[9] 87
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[10] 56
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] 49

Notes and References

  1. Web site: pt. Nairzinha: O Pintinho Piu. Jorge Luiz de Souza. avosidade.com.br. June 4, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161013050541/http://avosidade.com.br/nairzinha-o-pintinho-piu/. October 13, 2016. dead. November 6, 2021. Nairzinha Spinelli Lauria study for forty years the traditions that are handed down with children's songs and games, and states that "O Pintinho Piu" and its variants as title and incipit ("A Mina Velha" and "Na minha casa") have deep historical roots.
  2. Web site: Pulcino Twitter and Its Brazilian Copy. María Evangelina Cobo Zaballa. Blogger. January 6, 2013. November 6, 2021. The author states that in the 1950s the song "A minha velha tem" was popular in Brazil (especially in São Paulo) and served as riddle: children used to play "Ring Around the Rosie" by guessing the name of the animal chosen, its natural sound and its aspect described.
  3. Web site: A minha velha (1950 Partitura Braille). Repositório de Informação Acessível. November 6, 2021. The electronic catalog of materials accessible to the disabled people (established in 1970) confirms that the score of "A minha velha" in Braille dates back to 1950 and is part of the Brazilian folklore, i.e. there's no recognized author.
  4. Web site: PULCINO PIO - El Pollito Pio (Official video). 29 November 2012 . YouTube. February 24, 2020.
  5. Web site: Top de l'année Top Singles 2012. SNEP. fr. 20 August 2020.
  6. Web site: Ferro è il re degli album più venduti nel 2012 . . . 14 January 2013 . 14 January 2013. it.
  7. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 2013. Ultratop. 29 April 2020.
  8. Web site: Top de l'année Top Singles 2013. SNEP. fr. 20 August 2020.
  9. Web site: Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts. de. GfK Entertainment. offiziellecharts.de. 29 April 2020.
  10. Web site: Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2013. Dutch Top 40. 29 April 2020.
  11. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Single 2013. dutchcharts.nl. 29 April 2020.