Unlike most other musicians, very sentence that De André wrote is part of a story. It is actually possible to read the words as if they are a narrative work of fiction, not even a poem. This is his main quality and his strength, and it is what gained him the overall respect of the Italian public, without regard for his general or political views.
In reality, in his private life Fabrizio was very leftist politically and he never made a mystery about it. At times, he received some special "attention" from the government for his affiliations with some extreme leftists, but his actions were always correct, honest, and clear. He was an idealist and the only weapon he ever used was his guitar, an instrument he mastered not as a rock star might, but as a tool to support his songs. In fact, his songs were so visually effective that could also be considered as short films, as every scene and every character flickers in front of the eyes, although in reality they are created out of words and music.
To remember some songs of his repertoire and to offer some perspective on its content, we would like to mention three songs that are probably the most popular among his work, and the ones that best represent his free spirit and his inspiration. One is "Bocca di Rosa" (Rose Mouth) that talks about a prostitute moving to a small town to gently please the men until moral issues, the local women, and politics force her to move elsewhere. The song ends with most of the men, including the local priest, waving goodbye to her at the train station - not the station of the small town but the next one. This signifies their affection, but also represents the hypocrisy of not wanting to be associated with her in their hometown. The second is "La canzone di Marinella" (Marinella's song), a true fairy tale about an average girl and a prince on his horse falling in love. Marinella dies at the end leaving the prince in despair. It narrates almost like a Grimm brothers' story. The third and probably more effective song is "La guerra di Piero" (Piero's war) where a regular private sings while shooting another in an act of war. Very vivid and very dramatic, as De André takes us to the battlefield, not to entertain but to make us think about the idiocy of war.
De André never really cared to have a commercial style. He had his way of communicating and basically stayed with it until the very end. He was not gifted with a particular voice, nor even an unforgettable style of composing, although when combined, these elements made his final product simply fantastic and at the very top. Some compare him to Bob Dylan and probably the comparison is not too far from accurate. In his private life, De André was married to another singer Dori Ghezzi, whose beauty and candor hit the hearts of many Italians. Relatively wealthy, unfortunately they didn't have always happy moments. De André and Ghezzi were indeed kidnapped in the summer of 1979 in Sardinia and remained in captivity for over four months, released after a ransom just a few days before Christmas. Cancer took him away at the age of 58, when he could still deliver so much. It would have been interesting to hear his take and point of view on today's world. It was all probably far from his vision, but it is likely he would connect with the Internet and its people, he would have a blog, and his ideas would have soared.
It is, in fact, possible to follow his music and videos on Youtube and other sites; after all, legends like Fabrizio De Andre never die. They only get more popular with the passing of time.
