Bandiera bianca

"Bandiera bianca"
Single by Franco Battiato
from the album La voce del padrone
B-side"Summer on a Solitary Beach"
Released1981
GenrePop, New wave
Length5:19
LabelEMI Italiana
Songwriter(s)Franco Battiato, Giusto Pio
Franco Battiato singles chronology
"L'era del cinghiale bianco"
(1979) 		"Bandiera bianca"
(1981) 		"I treni di Tozeur"
(1984)
Music video
"Bandiera bianca" on YouTube

"Bandiera bianca" (lit. 'White flag') 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 Mostra internazionale di musica leggera [it] 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".[1][2] 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".[1][2]

Track listing

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

  • 7" single
No.TitleLength
1."Bandiera bianca"5:19
2."Summer on a Solitary Beach"4:53

Charts

Chart (1981) Peak position
Italy (Musica e dischi)[3] 24

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[4]
sales from 2009 		Gold 50,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b c Zuffanti, Fabio (30 June 2020). "Bandiera bianca". Franco Battiato: Tutti i dischi e tutte le canzoni, dal 1965 al 2019 (in Italian). LIT Edizioni. ISBN 978-88-6231-868-6.
  2. ^ a b c Spessato, Carla (20 October 2021). "Bandiera bianca". Franco Battiato: Come un incantesimo (in Italian). Giunti. ISBN 978-88-09-95527-1.
  3. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 29 May 2023. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "Bandiera bianca".
  4. ^ "Italian single certifications – Franco Battiato – Bandiera bianca" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 23 September 2024.