Performed by: Riccardo Fogli
Music by: Maurizio Fabrizio
Lyrics by: Riccardo Fogli, Vincenzo Spampinato
Conductor: Maurizio Fabrizio
Language: Italian
Placing: 11th (41 points)
Other versions: English
"Per Lucia" was the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1983, performed in Italian by Riccardo Fogli.
The song is a ballad, with Fogli singing about the lengths he wants to go to in order to impress Lucia, his lover. He claims at one point, for example, that he wants to make a feast for the entire country.
The song was performed fifth on the night. At the close of voting, it had received 41 points, placing 11th in a field of 20.
Fogli has recorded also an English-language version of the song, titled "For Lucia", which was released as a promo single.
Riccardo Fogli had already achieved overwhelming popularity in Italy and Spanish-language countries, and his victory at Festival di Sanremo in 1982 made it spread worldwide.
After Italian broadcaster RAI had chosen the artist internally as the representative in Eurovision, decided to release a greatest hits album including Italy's entry for the contest, also "Storie de Tutti i Giorni" (Sanremo's winning song) and his hits from the last four studio albums at the time: Che Ne Sai (1979), Alla Fine de Un Lavoro (1980), Campione (1981) and Compagnia (1982).[2]
The compilation was released in Scandinavia region and Greece and reached number 20 on the Finnish Album Charts in June 1983.
Covers
Swedish dansband Wizex covered the song on the 1983 album Julie as "Här är sången" with lyrics in Swedish by Monica Forsberg.
There are two Finnish-language cover versions of the song. "Kirje sulle", written by Raul Reiman and recorded by Katri Helena and "Vielä kerran kaikki muuttuu", written by Turkka Mali and recorded by Jonna Tervomaa.
A Croatian cover version of Per Lucia was sung by Slovenian singer Oto Pestner, "Tebi Lucija", and released after the contest for the compilation album "Evrovizijske melodije 2", due to the popularity of Eurovision in Yugoslavia.
The 1980s were a pinnacle of success for Riccardo Fogli. In this period, the lyrics of his songs became more philosophical and his singing manner became more emotional. In 1981, Fogli performed one of his most famous and lyrical song, "Malinconia" ("Melancholy"), and in 1982 he was the winner of the Festival di Sanremo with his other hit "Storie di tutti i giorni" ("Everyday Stories"). His 1982 album Collezione (Collection) was issued in nearly a million copies in Western Europe, Japan and the USSR, where he became particularly popular.
Fogli was married to and then divorced from the Italian singer Viola Valentino.
In 2016, he reunited with Pooh for the final tour, which celebrated the 50 anniversary of band foundation.
Lyrics:
Per Lucia
Buonasera, quando arriverai
Ti toglierai l'inverno e lo appenderai
Avrai due braccia grandi come una foresta
E la quiete dopo la tempesta
Per Lucia ritrovare il foglio più bianco
E poi cominciare
Io vorrei per esempio legarle i capelli
Con un filo di vento
Per Lucia ci sarà la luna più piena
Ma non basterà
Io vorrei continuando un mare di grano
Per cullarla ogni tanto
Buonanotte, quando spegnerai
Indosserai le stelle e le sognerai
Avrai un mare calmo dove navigare
E un silenzio quando vuoi parlare
Per Lucia delicata sarò la sua ombra
Disegnata per strada
Io vorrei per esempio aprirle le porte
Che chiudono il mondo
Con Lucia basta poco
Ti riempie da sola il giorno più vuoto
Io vorrei così tanto ridarle
Il sorriso sul viso un po' stanco
Oltre il muro che cosa c'è
Trattieni il fiato e poi salta verso me
I colpi di fucile sono ormai lontani
Apriremo il cielo con le mani
Per Lucia lunga vita e acqua di fiume
Per ogni ferita
Io vorrei luci accese la festa più grande
Per tutto il paese
Per Lucia spaventata che questa mia penna
Diventi una spada
Con Lucia al mio fianco
Che la storia continui nella pagina accanto
ENGLISH translation:
For Lucia
Good evening, when you arrive
You'll take away the winter and get rid of it
You'll have two arms, large like a forest
And like the silence after the storm
For Lucia I look for the whitest sheet
And then begin
For example, I want to bind her hair
With a wire of the wind
For Lucia it'll be the fullest moon
But it won't be enough
To continue, I want a sea of wheat
To cherish every few
Good night, when you die
You'll wear the stars and dream
You'll have a smooth sea for sailing
And silence when you want to speak
For sensitive Lucia, I'll be her shadow
Drawn on the road
For example, I want to open for her the doors
That close the world
With Lucia I have enough
She fills you up on the emptier days
I want to give her so much again
The smile on the face which is a little tired
Beyond the wall that is there
Hold your breath and jump towards me
Rifle shots are far away
We'll open the sky with our hands
For frightened Lucia, my pen
Becomes a sword
With Lucia at my side
The story goes on to the next page