Gianluca Grignani will be in Sanremo for the eighth time, where in 1995 he experienced his first great success with Paradise destination. On the Ariston stage, Luché’s guest in the evening dedicated to covers, he will propose a new version of another historic hit, Half falcon.
Participation in the Festival is the prelude to Grignani’s return to the live scene with the tour Emerald Green – Rock ‘n’ roll residue which will leave on May 23rd from Castelraimondo (Macerata). Remnants of rock ‘n’ roll it is also the title of his autobiography published by San Paolo editions. Here is an excerpt from a chapter in which he talks about Stefania, a childhood friend who died of leukemia and has now returned to inspire him with new music:
«I’m here, in my house on the hills of San Colombano al Lambro, where I also have my recording studio. My days are marked by musicians who come and go. When they’re not there, I still stay alone to play, even at night. I’ve been working on the project that has occupied my life for seven years: it’s a trilogy, three albums that I want to release one after the other. They will be called Emerald Green 1, 2, 3 and will be dedicated to Stefania, a childhood friend of mine who died of leukemia.
This house resembles the one where Stefania grew up, which was located next to a school and was surrounded by orchards. «We climbed the peach trees to eat cherries» is a phrase that will be part of one of the songs of the trilogy. It was our game: we climbed onto the peach trees and leaned out from there to pick the cherries from the next tree. This image contains all the happiness that existed between us before, shortly thereafter, she would no longer be there. I was little more than a child and I didn’t want to believe it. I went to her mother and asked her: “Stefania won’t die, right?”.
Stefania knew very well that she had to die, yet she was always cheerful and positive. She was the first to understand my essence, my artistic abilities, which my parents struggled to understand. On the day of his funeral I saw a large tree that had beautiful emerald green leaves. Immediately afterwards, I felt an unspeakable pain, so strong that I felt blinded. I entered this emerald green and came out when she made me reborn, showing me again the path to follow. He saved me, this time from myself.
I haven’t had an easy life. I had a wife and four children, but my family life was not as happy as it might appear on the outside. Most of my collaborators have done all sorts of things to me. And I myself have made many mistakes. In short, at a certain point in my life, I found myself alone and disheartened.
Outside Stefania’s house, that large tree still exists that I saw as soon as I came out of the room where they had placed her before closing her in the coffin. The image of that tree obscured by the tears of my eyes transformed the large foliage, in my childhood imagination, into a large green emerald crossed by the faint rays of the sun that appeared as always happens after the storm that has just passed.
That unspeakable pain I felt over the death of my little best friend was blinded, as if something or someone had ordered me to forget what had happened. And so it was. I haven’t thought about Stefania for more than thirty years.
Each of us goes through periods in life that are similar to buoys: you circle around them for a while and then move on. Or go down and your ride is over. I clung to Stefania and thanks to her I was able to move forward. I found the inspiration to write new songs, including the one about the relationship I had with my father, Quando ti manca breath, which I presented in Sanremo last year. As I was saying, since the day of her funeral I haven’t thought about her anymore. My mind feels like it has removed it. Until one morning, while I was alone at home in the shower, it all came back to me. It was very strong, the sensations I have felt since then have accompanied me, as has the distinct echo of his voice. Yes, Stefania has been talking to me ever since. I find it very difficult to explain it, because inside me there is a rational, almost cynical component that I inherited from my father. Yet I feel this spiritual presence that envelops me and scares me at the same time.
I will have written songs to fill not three, but ten albums. And I owe all this to her, to Stefania who, I don’t know where from, but is next to me again, like when we climbed the peach trees to eat cherries”.
