Prisencolinensinainciusol

"Prisencolinensinainciusol" (stylized on the single cover as "PRİSENCÓLİNENSİNÁİNCIÚSOL") is a song composed by the Italian singer Adriano Celentano, and performed by Celentano and his wife Claudia Mori, a singer/actress-turned-record producer. It was released as a single in 1972.

"Prisencolinensinainciusol"
Single by Adriano Celentano
from the album Nostalrock
LanguageGibberish (inspired by American English)
B-side"Disc Jockey"
Released3 November 1972 (1972-11-03)
GenreExperimental pop, novelty song, rock and roll, proto-rap
Length3:54
LabelItaldisc (Italy)
Epic (US)
Songwriter(s)Adriano Celentano
Adriano Celentano singles chronology
"La ballata di Pinocchio"
(1972)		 "Prisencolinensinainciusol"
(1972)		 "L'unica chance"
(1973)

Language

The song is intended to sound to its Italian audience as if it is sung in English spoken with an American accent, designed to be "Bob Dylan-esque";[1] however, the lyrics are deliberately unintelligible gibberish with the exception of the words "all right".[2] Celentano's intention with the song was not to create a humorous novelty song but to explore communication barriers. "Ever since I started singing, I was very influenced by American music and everything Americans did. So at a certain point, because I like American slang—which, for a singer, is much easier to sing than Italian—I thought that I would write a song which would only have as its theme the inability to communicate. And to do this, I had to write a song where the lyrics didn't mean anything."[3]

Releases and versions

The original version of the track was released as a single on 3 November 1972, and appeared on Celentano's album Nostalrock the following year. For its UK release, the single was given the simpler title of "The Language of Love (Prisencol…)". The song appeared on the 2008 dance compilation album Poplife Presents: Poplife Sucks.[4] Celentano later recorded a version with real Italian lyrics; this version, released on his 1994 album Quel Punto, was named "Il Seme del Rap" and served as a hip hop parody. In 2016, Celentano released a new recording of the song (with the original lyrics); this version featured the music of Benny Benassi and vocals from Mina.

Celentano performed the song at least twice on Italian television. In the fourth episode of the 1974 variety series Milleluci, he dances with Raffaella Carrà, who lip-syncs to Mori's vocals. In an episode of Formula Due, the song appears in a comedy sketch in which he portrays a teacher. Video clips of both performances, both separate and edited together, began to appear on YouTube in the late 2000s. It became something of an Internet meme,[5] and in 2009 it was posted to Boing Boing,[6] and subsequently saw renewed interest in the Italian media.[7]

In 1992, remixes of the song by Molella and Fargetta were released on CD Single, along with the original version, to promote the compilation Superbest. An interpretation of part of the song by French actor José Garcia appeared in the 2002 film Quelqu'un de bien; a full version of this interpretation was released as a single with the title "Prisencoli". In 2008, Italian singer Bugo covered the song, which he played on tour around Italy. A remix by the Spanish DJ duo Los Massieras was released in 2010 under the title "Allrighty".[8]

In 2017, the dancer Roberto Bolle appeared in an electronic dance remix video of the song by the Italian singer Mina and Celentano. The two previously recorded the album Mina Celentano.

In September 2017, the American rock group Tub Ring released an album called "A Choice of Catastrophes", which includes a cover of "Prisencolinensinainciusol".

In 2017, the song was included in the soundtrack of "The Law of Vacant Places", the first episode of the third season of the FX television series Fargo, over Ray Stussy and Nikki Swango participating in a bridge tournament.

In 2018, the song was included in the soundtrack of "Lone Star", the second episode of the FX television series Trust.

This song is also used as one of the revolving bumper music intros into the Rush Limbaugh radio show.[9][10]

In 2019 comedian James Adomian covered the song on his podcast The Underculture, using his impression of psychoanalyst and philosopher Slavoj Žižek.[11]

Track listing
  • 7" single – BF 70026[12]
  1. "Prisencolinensinainciusol" (Adriano Celentano) – 3:54
  2. "Disc Jockey" (Luciano Beretta, Adriano Celentano, Miki Del Prete) – 4:54

Charts

See also

References
  1. "Sounds of Italy - day one: a history of Italian pop in 10 songs". The Guardian. 9 July 2012.
  2. Kroes, Rob (1993). Cultural Transmissions and Receptions: American Mass Culture in Europe. Austin Tex.: Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center. p. 147. ISBN 978-90-5383-207-3.
  3. Raz, Guy (4 November 2012). "It's Gibberish, But Italian Pop Song Still Means Something". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  4. Anderson, Rick. "Review Poplife Presents: Poplife Sucks". Allmusic. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  5. Celentano conquista i blogger americani. Wired Italy. 2009-12-18.
  6. Doctorow, Cory. "Review Gibberish rock song written by Italian composer to sound like English". BoingBoing. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  7. "Review Usa, scoppia la Celentano-mania tutti pazzi per un brano del '72". LaStampa. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
  8. "Allrighty". 31 August 2010.
  9. "OITNB, Prisencolinensinainciusol and the Host's Phone Rings". The Rush Limbaugh Show.
  10. "Who Made Prisencolinensinainciusol Popular?". The Rush Limbaugh Show.
  11. "Slavoj Žižek & Melania Trump (w/ Lory Tatoulian)". 22 August 2019.
  12. "Prisencolinensinainciusol/Disc Jockey" (in Italian). Discografia Nazionale della Canzone Italiana. Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  13. "Ultratop.be – Adriano Celentano – Prisencolinensinainciusol" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  14. "Ultratop.be – Adriano Celentano – Prisencolinensinainciusol" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  15. "Les Chansons – Détail par Artiste – C" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2013. Select Adriano CELENTANO, then press OK.
  16. "Offiziellecharts.de – Adriano Celentano – Prisencolinensinainciusol". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Adriano Celentano – Prisencolinensinainciusol" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  18. "I singoli più venduti del 1974" (in Italian). hitparadeitalie.it. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
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