Prisencolinensinainciusol is a November 1972 single by the Italian singer Adriano Celentano. It’s notable as a decent chart hit, but its use of English is very interesting indeed.
Listening to the thing, you’ll kind of get a sense something is being said. Some jive talk, perhaps, or contemporary lingo. Nope! It’s total gibberish, all of it, just an experiment by Celentano to see if he could chart in new territories. And that’s what we’re exploring today.
The Glorious Gibberish Lyrics of Prisencolinensinainciusol
Okay, so Celentano created the song in part to highlight communication barriers and how these can be circumvented through music.
It’s a clever song as you just get the vibe of it. Prisencolinensinainciusol has swagger and groove, you just know what it’s about—having a Pernod in a bar, smoking, being young and cool. There’s a great thumping bass drum element to it, followed by a bass guitar and horn section.
Unsurprisingly, Celentano (about 34/35 when the song was released) had been heavily inspired by Elvis Presley. Having mainly enjoyed success in his native Italy, the singer tried his hand at an American English inspired song.
He’s very successful, too, mainly in Italy where he’s credited for bringing rock and roll to the mainstream. He’s since sold some 150 million records across his long career, which began in 1959.
But all the words are total nonsense, not of it means anything.
As the song was a hit, he did the customary song and dance performances for various TV performances.
It peaked in the top 10 across Europe, reaching 2nd in the charts in Belgium! In Italy it also sold well, shifting 260,000 copies and landing him 5th in the charts there.
The big irony, though, was it didn’t get any success in America. No Billboard Hot 100 position whatsoever, it was only popular in Europe where American music was still very popular.
We’re just more impressed Celntano had the audacity to release a song of rambling nonsense, still managing to convey a meaningful message in the process.
And whilst it kind of came and went, as most singles typically do, the internet found it again a few years back and people around the world have enjoyed its boppy groove.
Meanwhile, its creator is now 87 and retired from music.
In Italy, he’s called Il Molleggiato, which means The Jumpy One. That’s a reference to his bopping dancing style and general swagger. He starred in 39 films, too, mainly comedy romps where he could show off his dancing skills.
But we do love the idea of writing nonsense, rambling lyrics.
And we can imagine many listeners outside of Italy, in November 1972, thinking he was American, cool, and singing some funky cool bloke stuff at them. When it was all gibberish.
