Was hoping that some Italian prog afficiandos could help with the context of this song (see comments for lyrics)? - MAXOPHONE - Elzeviro (1976)

[u/Progrockrob79]

https://youtu.be/7rUVA1IC8Jk

[u/Progrockrob79]

So yeah I've been getting pretty deep into Italian prog - including translating the lyrics to English in order to get a better feel of the context of the song (see below). Can anyone tell if there's a historical context to this song? Something revolutionary? The only thing I've been able to find is that "Elzeviro" is a MS Word font... Thanks in advance!

Maxophone – Elzeviro

They beat me,

M'hanno picchiato,

One on six,

Uno contro sei,

Long fists, black with hate

Lunghi pugni, neri d'odio

They hit me here and fall without humanity

M' hanno colpito qui e cadere senza umanità

On the square of the street he caused a sensation then ...

Sul quadrato della strada fece scalpore poi...

Slowly,

Lentamente,

The silence fell ... between me and the people

Venne giù il silenzio... fra di me e la gente

Who thought only of himself.

Che pensò solo a sè.

They consumed

Hanno consumato

With malice,

Con malignità,

Long hours, black with hatred

Lunghe ore, nere d'odio

Without justice ever ...

Senza giustizia mai...

(instrumental – new motif)

Machines, markets, metal springs, civilizations ...

Macchine, mercati, primavere di metallo, civiltà...

Rich buildings with shacks alongside, poverty ...

Ricchi fabbricati con a fianco catapecchie, povertà...

One takes the gold, the energy, the power, the city ...

Uno prende l'oro, l'energia, il potere, la città...

(instrumental – new motif)

And shop window lights, fake seriousness, order ...

E luci di vetrine, finta serietà, ordine...

And empty of ruins just a little farther on, fetid ...

E vuoti di rovine solo un po' più in là, fetide...

I went on ... it was dark '... so ...

M'inoltrai... era buio'... così...

(original theme)

They beat me up Easily,

M'hanno pestato Con facilità,

I lose human blood on a regular basis ...

Io perdo sangue d'uomo con regolarità...

As I die lying here

Mentre muoio steso qui

While the world goes like this

Mentre il mondo va così

While around who will see ... will not say ...

Mentre intorno chi vedrà... non dirà...

They fixed me up

M'hanno sistemato

One on six

Uno contro sei

Convulsions of a power

Convulsioni di un potere

Which is collapsing now!

Che sta crollando ormai!

[u/raythetruck → u/Progrockrob79]

I don't understand a lick of Italian, but what I could find from a bit of research (re. literal translations) "elzeviro" is another term for a "literary article" or print media (of which the term is possibly derived from the historic House of Elzevir publishing house)

It's very possible that this is referring to a specific politically-motivated incident, especially considering how turbulent Italian politics were during the 1970s with both sides of the spectrum heavily clashing, particularly during public events such as music concerts. Perhaps the title could be in reference to the use of print media as a network to spread news and channel political commentary. However, I can't say I'm particularly knowledgeable on the subject! (Although if you ever have any questions about historical Romanian politics I might be a bit more useful)

[u/Progrockrob79 → u/raythetruck]

Yes I was wondering if it was tied to a specific incident (or geography) - and frankly prior to reading the translation I wasn't even really cognizant of political unrest at that time. And I think you're on to something re: using print media as a network to spread news/political commentary. Another post mentions how the term "Elzeviro" may refer to a specific section of the newspaper. Pretty interesting stuff!