“Fai Rumore” is a three-minute song that should have represented the country of Italy in the 2020 installment of the Eurovision Song Contest. The said contest, however, was canceled for obvious reasons, but it came back in 2021. The song had been one of the public’s favorites in the contest that never happened. Below, we will analyze the song to determine what the song was trying to tell, not just to Europe but also to the world.
COVID lockdowns
On March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was starting to spread worldwide, Italy was among the first countries to experience the worst infection rates. “Fai Rumore” was played across the streets of Italy. It was heard across balconies, where Italians who were locked up in their houses were singing the song as if pleading with the others to make noise (ma fai rumore, sì).
The streets of Italy, which were once filled with people, noise, with life, were no longer there. The cities fell dead, and they could not stand it anymore because they were not used to it (non lo posso sopportare questo silenzio innaturale). “Fai Rumore” was a song of longing. It was a call by someone who was missing somebody who used to make noise (fai rumore qui), to make up a part of his life, who was now separated from him.
That had been the common sentiment among the trapped Italians during the early days of COVID, as it represents their want to see the people they were close to and to hear their “noise” (se il tuo rumore mi conviene). It was also shown in the Verona Arena performance, where Antonio Diodato sang his song in an empty arena where there used to be many people. The song also appeared in Eurovision 2022 as an interval act.
The lyrics
The song’s lyrics had more than what it appeared to have in the subtitles. To begin with, the Italian verb “fai” is in the second-person singular. It felt more sincere, as if it was a one-to-one conversation. Also, the song used the phrase “fai rumore” twice in the chorus, but with different meanings. How so? “Fai” means “make” in the present tense or the imperative mood.
The first usage was in “fai rumore qui” which means “you make noise here.” The persona was reminiscing about his past with the person he loved but left him. She used to make noise in his life. They used to make noise together. They made noise in each other’s life to give each other company when one was away. However, he missed the company when the other one did not return. He asked her to make some noise so that he could feel her again. That’s what the second mention meant (ma fai rumore, sì). The word “sì” in there meant “yes,” but it was more like a “please” for such a plea.
With his lover gone, he did not know what else to do (me ne vado in giro senza parlare) or where to go. With the person who used to accompany him no more, he asked his shoes where to go because they were the other ones who were with him along the way (forse le mie scarpe sanno bene dove andare).
The song also invoked the feeling of trying to forget and how difficult it is to do it actively. In the song, the persona was getting nowhere. His shoes led him to places he had been with the person who left him (mi ritrovo negli stessi posti).
Later, the song showed the singer’s regret, making forgetting even more difficult. He regretted going to those places. He could have somewhere to go without triggering painful memories if he did. With nowhere else to go, he just forced himself to forget (faccio finta di dimenticare).
It is also usual for people to find themselves, not just in the same places, but going back to the same person because it feels like they cannot live without that person. It also happened in the song. It was expressed in the line, “ma capisco che, per quanto io fugga, torno sempre a te.” (I realized that no matter how far I run away, I still come back to you).
Overall, “Fai Rumore” is a powerful love song for those who miss the feeling of being loved and would have fared well had the 2020 ESC happened.
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