Brividi is Italy’s entry in the 2022 installment of the Eurovision Song Contest. Mahmood and BLANCO delivered a beautiful love song on the Eurovision stage in their home country making it rank 6th in the entire competition. The song delivers rich and complex themes of love that should appeal to any viewer. Below, we will analyze Brividi – its lyrics and its message.
A Song of Failed love
Brividi begins by emoting the feeling of lost love. It is the longing for the love that the persona used to feel. He wondered if there was anything he could have done or anything that he could do at the time to save their failing relationship. He lamented that he saw that love was already gone, that the feeling of it being gone is no longer just a sentiment, but a fact, as he said that light was no longer in his partner’s eyes (non vedo più la luce nei tuoi occhi).
Naked With Chills
The chorus begins with the line “nudo con i brividi” which translates to “naked with chills” in English. Yes, the adjective “nudo” can mean “naked,” but it also means “barren.” “Nudo con i brividi” means that the persona’s life was barren of love, it was once full of it, but now, it was gone. He was deprived of it. It was stripped away from him like a garment.
However, the adjective can also take its direct translation. We can think of love as if it were a coat, something that keeps a person warm. Without love to warm one up, life gets cold. If someone was without love, it was as if he had no coat, nor any covering in him, in the cold of the loveless life. He is shivering (con i brividi) because the heat of love is gone, and he is naked because the love that wrapped him is no longer there.
Saving the Lost Love
The rest of the chorus included the persona’s attempt to restore the love. He blamed himself for its ruin, he saw himself to be always wrong (ti vorrei amare, ma sbaglio sempre) as a result. However, he was willing to make up for it. He was willing to make additional efforts just to see his partner once more and to reconcile.
The line “pagherei per andar via” is an interesting one. English subtitles of the song would say it means “I will pay to leave.” However, there is a subtle meaning for the word “andar.” Andar means to go, and via means “way” (route). When the singer sang “pagherei per andar via” he was not singing that he was willing to pay to leave, as in for a trip. He meant that he was willing to do anything to continue his way, as he was trapped due to his longing. And there were two ways for him to andar via – either they leave each other, or they get back to each other, and he was willing to do everything (pagherei) just to obtain any of those outcomes.
The Smothering Toxicity of a Poorly-Expressed Love
For a loving relationship to be long-lasting, both parties should be there for each other, they should be clear with their intentions, and express their needs and themselves well. That is the message of the bridge. BLANCO’s four lines in the bridge was a complaint that he was stuck in a prison (vivo dentro una prigione) and that prison can be thought of as the loop of the never-ending cycle where he tried to stay close to his partner over and over again while not achieving any results.
Meanwhile, that sense of “nothing is happening” is because his partner was not very expressive (non so dirti ciò che provo, è un mio limite). This interaction showed that, sometimes, one party would demand attention, desperately even, but the other would not be able to provide it, making the demanding party lose faith in them.
The Bicycle Made Up of Diamonds
The song mentioned a bicycle of diamonds (bici di diamanti) in the beginning and near then end. This symbolizes their dreams in love. Flying with that bicycle of diamonds represents freedom in love – freedom to express themselves, and freedom from the restrictions, fears, and destructive thoughts that come from a poorly-expressed love Mahmood came closer to his partner, stating that he was there, and he was still willing to ride the diamond bike with him, noting that, in love, we should be open to our partner to clear their doubts and ours.
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