“Nel blu, dipinto di blu” (‘In the blue [sky] [as I was] painted blue’), popularly known as “Volare” (‘To fly’), is a song originally recorded by Italian singer-songwriter Domenico Modugno. Written by Modugno and Franco Migliacci, it was released as a single in February 1958. The song spent five non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard in August and September 1958, and subsequently became Billboard’s number-one single for the year. In 1959, at the 1st Annual Grammy Awards, Modugno’s recording became the first ever Grammy winner for both Record and Song of the Year.
Franco Migliacci began working on the lyrics of the song in June 1957, inspired by two paintings by Marc Chagall. He had planned to go to the sea with Domenico Modugno, but while waiting for Modugno to show up, Migliacci started drinking wine and eventually fell asleep. He had vivid dreams, and when he woke up, he looked at the Chagall paintings (reproductions) on the wall. In “Le coq rouge” was a yellow man suspended in mid-air, while in “Le peintre et la modelle”, half the painter’s face was coloured blue. So he began penning a song about a man who dreams of painting himself blue, and being able to fly. Later that same night, Migliacci discussed his lyrics with Modugno, and for several days they worked on the song, tentatively entitled “Sogno in blu” (‘Dream in blue’). In 2008, Modugno’s widow, Franca Gandolfi, recalled that her husband, after a storm forced open his window, had the idea of modifying the chorus of the song, introducing the word “Volare”, which is now the popular title of the song.
The song is a ballad in a dramatic chanson style, in which Modugno describes the feeling he has when with his lover; a feeling that resembles flying. The song opens with a surreal prelude, which the cover versions often left out.
| Penso che un sogno così non ritorni mai più Mi dipingevo le mani e la faccia di blu poi d’improvviso venivo dal vento rapito e incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito. | I think that a dream like that will never return I painted my hands and my face blue then was suddenly swept up by the wind and started to fly in the infinite sky. |
The English lyrics were written by Mitchell Parish. Alternative English lyrics were written in 1958 by Gracie Fields, and were used from then in most concerts she performed in until her death in 1979; she often changed the words to suit her performance and age.
In 1958, the song participated in the selection process for the eighth Sanremo Music Festival. The jury charged with selecting the entries to the competition was going to reject “Nel blu dipinto di blu”; however, in the end, it was one of the 20 admitted songs. In January 1958, the song was performed for the first time, by Domenico Modugno and Johnny Dorelli. It was Dorelli’s first appearance at the Festival, and according to his team-partner, Dorelli was so nervous that he had to be punched by Modugno to be persuaded to perform on stage. The song evetually won the competition.
Following its victory at the Sanremo Music Festival, the song was chosen to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 1958, which took place in March in Hilversum, Netherlands. Domenico Modugno was chosen as the singer. Modugno was set to open the show and perform in position 1, preceding the entry from Netherlands. However, he would have to perform again at the end as well—before the voting took place—due to a transmission fault during the first performance that caused the song to not be heard in all countries broadcasting the event. At the end of the voting, the song had received 13 points, placing 3rd in a field of 10. Despite this, it became one of the most successful songs ever performed in Eurovision Song Contest history.
The song became an instant success in Italy, selling more than 20,000 copies in its first 12 days. As of February 2013, according to RAI’s estimates, the single had sold 800,000 copies in its domestic market. Following the results obtained in Italy, the song was also released in the United States and in the rest of Europe and the single obtained global acclaim, becoming an international hit. The song’s popularity endures, and in 2004, according to the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers, it was the most played Italian song in Italy as well as in the whole world. Moreover, the combined sales of all the recorded versions of the song exceed 18 million.
