Ciao, ciao, ciao e benvenuti to the series Parole e musica, Maestro! (Words and Lyrics,
Maestro!): a word and a song each week. Stay tuned to find out what you are going to add
to your vocabulary and music collection today. Today s word is compagnia. The word comes
from the late-medieval Latin noun companio one who eats the same bread/bread with you
. Companio is made of c?m (con/with) and p?nis (pane/bread). As you can imagine, it is much
more than simply not being alone, being in company. It has to do more with sharing and
not simply a piece of bread, it s about sharing values, ideas as well as material possessions.
Despite this fact, some linguists tried to link the word compagno (comrade) with the
Russian tovari ?, which acquired a political connotation only in the XIX century.
Allora, compagnia as well as essere in compagnia di (being in company of)/fare compagnia a
(keeping company with) is also used in its broader meaning of a legal entity representing
an association of people with a specific objective. So, it is quite common to use compagnia as
in compagnia teatrale (theatrical company), compagnia di danza (dance company), and why
not?- compagnia di assicurazione (insurance company), compagnia aerea (airline company),
compagnia di navigazione (shipping company), and many many others. Let s not get further
into boring business language now, ok? Compagnia < Compagno/Compagna is also used
to refer to life partners with whom people are not married Don t do that, it s a huge
mistake, and it s an expensive one, as well. Don t do that, listen to Il Maestro: never
get married. Sorry: never get married!!!... This leads to our today s song: La Compagnia.
Felicit , felicit And the Grammy Award goes to Il Maestro.
Joking aside, the song was co-written by the well-known songwriter Mogol with the composer
and pianist Carlo Dionida for the Sardinian singer Marisa Sannia in 1969, however, it
s the later versions sung by Lucio Battisti in 1976, Mina in 1988, and Vasco Rossi in
2007 that made the song popular to the general public.
The song tells of the day-after the end of a love story. The main character wanders the
streets until he is enticed by the music coming from a bar. Here, with the company of music,
alcohol, cigarettes and dancing, the lonely and lost man forgets his sadness for a while.
And you? What kind of songs do you listen to to forget sadness? Write a title or two
in the comments. Consider subscribing if you like this video, and please do let me know
if there is any word or song you would like me to talk about.
Hope you enjoyed my compagnia so far. Dal Maestro tutto. Mi raccomando: studiate!