- Sì (song)
Infobox ESC entry
song = flagicon|Italy "Sì"
caption =
year = 1974
country = Italy
artist =Gigliola Cinquetti
as =
with =
language = Italian
languages =
composer = Mario Panzeri, Daniele Pace, Lorenzo Pilat, Corrado Conti
lyricist = Mario Panzeri, Daniele Pace, Lorenzo Pilat, Corrado Conti
conductor = Gianfranco Monaldi
place = 2nd
points = 18
place_semi =
points_semi =
lyrics = [http://www.diggiloo.net/?1974it from the Diggiloo Thrush]
clip ="Sì" (English: "Yes") is the name of the Italian entry to the
Eurovision Song Contest 1974 , which finished second behind the Swedish entry Waterloo sung byABBA . The lyrics and musics were written byMario Panzeri ,Daniele Pace ,Lorenzo Pilat andCorrado Conti . It was sung in Italian byGigliola Cinquetti . She later recorded versions in English, French, German and Spanish, which were released across Europe.During the preview programmes, Cinquetti sang the song alone in a dark room. The music video was broadcast in black and white as
RAI did not move to full color broadcasts until 1977. On the Contest night, Cinquetti performed the ballad in a blue dress, accompanied by an orchestra and four teenage female backup singers, dressed in light yellow blouses and autumnalfloral skirts. The song is sung in the first person where she reflects and describes her love for a man, and the exhilaration she feels when she finally says "yes" to him, which signifies that they can start the rest of their lives together. Throughout the song, the word "sì" is repeated sixteen times.It was the seventeenth and final song of the evening, following Portugal's song "
E depois do adeus " which was used as a signal in Portugal to begin theCarnation Revolution [http://www.esctoday.com/annual/1974/participants.php] .Under the scoring system of the time, each country had ten jurors, each of whom allocated one point to the song which they deemed to be the best. "Sì" received 18 votes in this manner, including five from United Kingdom and Monaco, two each from Finland and Spain, and single votes from Israel, Luxembourg, Belgium, Ireland and Portugal, and went pointless from the other six participating songs [http://www.myledbury.co.uk/eurovision/eurosong.zip] . It was Italy's second best result to date, with Cinquetti having won the contest with "
Non Ho L'Età " ten years earlier [http://www.songcontestvoting.com/eurovision/countries.asp?c=Italy] .Censorship of song in 1974
The live telecast of the song was banned in her home country by the Italian national broadcaster
RAI as the event partially coincided with the campaigning for the 1974Italian referendum on divorce which was held a month later in May.RAI censored the song due to concerns the name and lyrics of the song (which constantly repeated the word "SI") could be accused of being a
subliminal message and a form ofpropaganda to influence the Italian voting public to vote "YES" in the referendum. [http://www.keithm.utvinternet.ie/Webmaster50Top.htm] . The song remained censored on most Italian state TV and radio stations for over a month.An English version of the song, "Go (Before You Break My Heart)" reached eighth position in the British charts in June 1974 [http://www.esctoday.com/annual/songinfo.php?contest=290&song=17] .
ee also
*
Eurovision Song Contest 1974
*Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest
*Eurovision Song Contest External links
* [http://www.esctoday.com/annual/songinfo.php?contest=290&song=17 Lyrics]
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