1983 Italy: Riccardo Fogli - Per Lucia (11th place at Eurovision Song Contest in Munich)

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