John

Non so se ti ricordi di John Il mio amico tanto caro... Quello che lavorava Faceva il muratore Io l'ho visto ieri sera Nella via del piacere Ma non sembrava lui... Io mi accorsi dalla voce Perché gli chiesi quanto voleva Per passare con me Una notte d'amore... E fu proprio in quell'istante Che chiedendomi scusa Si sciupò il trucco dagli occhi... Non portava i soliti calzoni Ma una vecchia gonna rossa E per coprire i calli delle mani Si era messo dei quanti bianchi Ma erano macchiati... Portava le calze d'argento Però non luccicavano Ma i capelli biondi Lunghi fino ai seni finti Gli stavano bene... Aveva un trucco quasi perfetto Lo ingannava un poco la barba Evidentemente non aveva Del cerone a sufficienza Lui mi disse carissimo amico Dalla vita non ho mai avuto niente Non mi rimane che questo... Poi lo vidi salire su una macchina Rossa... rossa come le sue labbra E fu quella l'ultima volta che io vidi Il mio caro amico John Ma in compenso esiste ancora Chi ci può dire cosa disse John Prima di morire Ora la sua anima è appesa nel cielo Ma non si sa se è quella di una donna O quella di un uomo, di un uomo deluso Io so solamente che il mio caro amico John Era migliore di tanti John © 1974 Juri Camisasca

I don’t know if you remember about John, my friend so dear . . . that one who worked, he was a mason. I saw him yesterday evening on the avenue of pleasure, but he didn’t seem a he . . . I noticed by the voice, because I asked him how much he wanted to pass with me a night of love . . . And it was just in that instant that, excusing himself, the makeup was ruined from his eyes . . . He didn’t wear his usual shoes, but an old pink skirt, and to cover the calluses on his hands he’d put on some white gloves, but they were stained . . . He wore silver shoes, though they didn’t sparkle. But the blond hair, long down to the fake breasts, suited him. He had almost perfect makeup, it fooled the beard a little bit, apparently he didn’t have enough greasepaint. He said to me dearest friend I’ve never had anything from life, nothing remains for me but this . . . Then I saw him get into a car, red . . . red like his lips. And that was the last time I saw him, my dear friend John. But to make up for it there still exist those who can say what John said before dying. Now his spirit is hanging in the sky. But no one knows if it’s one of a woman or one of a man, of a disappointed man. I know only that my dear friend John was better than so many. English translation © 2021 Dennis Criteser La finestra dentro (The Window Within) was released in 1974 on the independent Bla Bla label, known for its progressive rock and avantgarde releases. Juri Camisasca met Franco Battiato during their military service, after which Battiato used Camisasca on a couple of projects and introduced him to the recording world. This album shows how the boundaries of traditional Italian pop music were being obliterated in pursuit of more personal, idiosyncratic, and non-commercial musical expressions. The songs themselves are in the singer/songwriter vein, but the lyrics are well outside the mainstream, and Camisasca's vocal experimentation and explorations take this album into another realm, with Camisasca expressing the existential discomfort that he felt in the years prior to his discovery of Christ and his becoming a Benedictine monk. The album was produced by Franco Battiato and Bla Bla's founder, Pino Massara.