The surreal dream of a man who wanted to fly blue
In short: In 1957, a lyricist fell asleep while waiting for a friend and woke up with a vivid dream inspired by Marc Chagall's paintings. This hazy, wine-soaked reverie birthed "Volare," a song so powerful it shattered Italian performance norms and became the first foreign-language Grammy winner.
The song's origins are rooted in a surrealist visual experience. In June 1957, Franco Migliacci was inspired by two paintings by Marc Chagall: "Le coq rouge," which featured a yellow man suspended in mid-air, and "Le peintre et la modèle," where half of the painter's face was painted blue. These images prompted Migliacci to write about a man dreaming of painting himself blue and gaining the ability to fly. He initially titled the work "Sogno in blu" (Dream in blue) before Domenico Modugno later added the iconic "Volare" to the chorus after a storm forced open his window.
Modugno's performance at the 1958 Sanremo Music Festival is cited as a pivotal moment in Italian music history. Before this, singers typically stood still with their arms across their chests. Modugno broke this convention by opening his arms wide as if attempting to fly. This dramatic physical expression helped the song win the festival and catapult it to international stardom. It became a global phenomenon, selling over 18 million copies worldwide and becoming the first non-American, non-Canadian, and non-British single to win Billboard's Song of the Year in the rock era.
The song's journey was not without controversy. Shortly after its release, it faced a plagiarism accusation from Antonio De Marco, who claimed Modugno stole his unreleased 1956 song. However, a court of justice eventually absolved the duo, finding no relevant similarities. Despite these hurdles, the song's legacy remains unmatched; it was ranked as the second favorite song in Eurovision history by fans and was declared the most popular song of the 20th century at the 2010 Viña del Mar International Song Festival.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Nel blu, dipinto di blu
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