Je So Pazzo

Giuseppe Daniele (19 March 1955 – 4 January 2015), known as Pino Daniele, was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician born in Naples. His influences covered a wide number of genres, including pop, blues, jazz, and Italian and Middle Eastern music. His lyrics also attracted critical praise: written and sung in an intense Neapolitan, they contained strong and bitter accusations against the social injustices of Naples, as well as Italian society in general, and included melancholic personal themes. Several of the later songs are characterized by a free intermingling of English, Italian and Neapolitan passages.

Daniele opened the Bob Marley concert in 1980 at the San Siro stadium in Milan. He also collaborated with Richie Havens on Common Ground, an album written and played together. In 2010, Daniele played at Crossroads Guitar Festival, called by his friend Eric Clapton at Toyota Park in Chicago, playing with Joe Bonamassa and Robert Randolph.In 2011, he performed in concert with Clapton at Cava de’ Tirreni stadium.

Among Pino Daniele’s most beloved songs, “Je so’ pazzo” (=I’m crazy) stands out, released in 1979 on the occasion of the Festivalbar, immediately conquering the public. With the song, Daniele launches a new musical genre, defined by himself as “Taramblù”, or a mix of tarantella, rumba and blues.

With a unique rhythm, the lyrics of the song are very strong: to write it Pino was inspired by Masaniello, a Neapolitan revolutionary who in the seventeenth century became the spokesperson for the people’s hardships. Between the verses, the singer-songwriter gives voice to generational needs and the restlessness prevalent in those years. The song is a sort of protest, without mincing words. The video is a mix of recordings at different times, when he was young and older.

I’m crazy, I’m crazy 
Je so’ pazzo, je so’ pazzo 

And I want to be who I want 
E vogl’essere chi vogl’io 

Get out of my house 
Ascite fora d’a casa mia 

I’m crazy, I’m crazy 
Je so’ pazzo, je so’ pazzo 

I have the people waiting for me 
Ci ho il popolo che mi aspetta 

And sorry, I’m in a hurry 
E scusate vado di fretta 

You don’t always agree with me 
Non mi date sempre ragione 

I know I’m a mistake 
Io lo so che sono un errore 

In life I want to live at least one day as a lion 
Nella vita voglio vivere almeno un giorno da leone 

And this time the State does not have to condemn me
E lo Stato questa volta non mi deve condannare

Because I’m crazy 
Pecché so’ pazzo 

I’m crazy 
Je so’ pazzo 

And today I want to talk
E oggi voglio parlare

I’m crazy, I’m crazy 
Je so’ pazzo, je so’ pazzo 

If you piss me off 
Si se ‘ntosta ‘a nervatura 

I put everyone facing the wall 
Metto a tutti ‘nfaccia o muro 

I’m crazy, I’m crazy 
Je so’ pazzo, je so’ pazzo 

And who says Masaniello 
E chi dice che Masaniello 

Wouldn’t be more handsome as a black? 
Poi negro non sia più bello? 

And I’m not disabled, I even have a high school diploma 
E non sono menomato, sono pure diplomato 

And I painted the black face to be noticed 
E la faccia nera l’ho dipinta per essere notato 

Masaniello has grown and Masaniello is back 
Masaniello é crisiuto e Masaniello é turnato 

I’m crazy
Je so’ pazzo

I’m crazy 
Je so’ pazzo 

Don’t screw it up or fuck it
Nun nce scassate ‘o cazzo

Linked to Song Lyric Sunday