Oltre la collina - Beyond the Hill

"Io non voglio più vedere, io non voglio più ascoltare" "Ma sei sicuro che sia tua figlia?" "Ma lui mi ha lasciato" "Mi sono uccisa io" "E così fu il vuoto intorno a noi" "E dentro noi" "Mi sono uccisa io"... Tutto rimane là, dietro la collina, tutto rimane là La mia verginità se la prese il mare Le mie lacrime durarono tanto a lungo che finirono per seccarsi La mia fede la persi e poi la ritrovai E poi la persi ancora, un milione di volte La mia speranza diventò ben presto un’abitudine I miei sogni furono le mie ossessioni La mia prigione fu la mia casa Le mie fughe arrivarono solo dietro l’angolo I miei baci vennero insudiciati dal primo venuto La mia vita e la mia morte si sposarono e insieme mi uccisero Ora tutto questo è là, dietro la collina, tutto rimane là Pronto a risucchiarmi indietro, a trascinarmi con sé nel buio, nel silenzio, nel marmo E io fuggo, correndo, camminando, zoppicando, strisciando per terra Io fuggo per cercare disperatamente un amore Un amore mio, un amore magari felice oppure, oppure infelice, ma sì, tanto è lo stesso Mi basta solo che sia un amore Oltre la collina © 1971 Claudio Baglioni and Antonio Coggi

“I don’t want to see anymore, I don’t want to hear anymore.” “But are you sure I’m your daughter?” “But he left me.” “I killed myself, I.” “And such was the emptiness around us.” “And inside us.” “I killed myself, I.” . . . Everything remains there, behind the hill, everything remains there. My virginity was taken by the sea, my tears lasted so long that they ended by drying up. My faith I lost and then I found it again and then I lost it again, a million times. My hope soon became a habit, my dreams were my obsessions. My prison was my house, my escapes arrived only around the corner. My kisses became soiled by the first passerby, my life and my death were married and together they killed me. Now all of this is there, behind the hill, everything remains there, ready to suck me back, to drag me with it into the darkness, into the silence, into the marble. And I flee, running, walking, limping, crawling on the ground. I flee to search desperately for a love, a love of my own, a love perhaps happy or else, or else unhappy, but yes, it’s all the same – it’s enough for me, just that it’s a love. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser Oltre la collina (Beyond the Hill) was Mia Martini's debut album, as well as the debut of her nom de plum (she was born Domenica Rita Adriana Bertè and her previous singles were released under Mimì Bertè). The album treats a number of heavy topics - suicide, spirituality, sexual violence, illness - and Italy wasn't ready for an album so direct, emotionally honest, and dark. The album suffered poor sales, but stands out as a bold statement and testament to Martini's lifelong desire to sing only material that she could personally connect with. She was, at the time, a sort of Gypsy-hippie recreating herself and escaping from the emotional subjugation that traditional southern Italian culture could inflict on women.