Italy mourns the passing of Francesco Guccini, the “maestrone” of Italian singer-songwriters. Guccini died on August 5 at the age of 86 in his hometown of Pavana, near Pistoia in Tuscany. The soundtrack to several generations, Guccini was among the first Italian musicians to address the horrors of the Holocaust.
He addressed the topic in one of his best-known songs, “Auschwitz,” written in 1964 and released in 1966. At that time, a conscious process of remembrance had yet to take shape, at least in Italy.
“Auschwitz” is his most popular work connected to the Jewish world, but not the only one. Another is “Shomer Ma Mi-Llailah” — “Watchman, how much longer is the night?” — released in 1983 and inspired by a verse from the Book of Isaiah. More recently, Guccini recorded the popular Jewish song “Hava Nagila” for his November 2023 album Canzoni da osteria. He dedicated the recording to an Israeli friend who was nostalgic for his friends in Bologna and the evenings they spent singing in taverns, including “Hava Nagila.”
His approach to the biblical text …
What did it mean to write a song like “Auschwitz” in 1964? “At a time when there was no serious reflection on the Holocaust, it was effectively a revolution,” explained Maria Teresa Milano, a musician and scholar of Jewish studies. “We can connect it to Bob Dylan, who certainly influenced him. But the fundamental point is that Guccini was part of an international movement of artists who understood the role of music as a vehicle for ideas and messages.”
The song reflects its time, with its questions and denunciations, Milano continues. “If it were written today, it would not be appropriate. But at the time, it was groundbreaking.”
As for “Shomèr Ma Mi-Llailah,” Milano said it is interesting to consider “the approach of a non-believer to the biblical text. Like all intelligent people, Guccini read the Bible, knew it, and understood its message.” His work, she noted, reveals an attention to “the meaning of life, the journey, and the value of asking questions.”
After singing about Auschwitz, Guccini eventually walked there himself. On the 50th anniversary of the song, he visited the former Nazi concentration and extermination camp as part of a journey that began at the Milan Holocaust Memorial, from which deportation trains once departed.
This experience later became the documentary film Son morto che ero bambino – Francesco Guccini va ad Auschwitz (I’ve Died as a Child – Francesco Guccini Goes to Auschwitz), which was presented in the Italian Parliament. Among those in attendance was Holocaust survivor Sami Modiano. The title draws from the song’s beginnings.
“I had read two books: one by Primo Levi and The Scourge of the Swastika by Lord Russell. The lyrics came to me all at once. I wrote them down in a little notebook,” Guccini recalled. “I didn’t really intend to become a singer-songwriter yet. My father had been in a concentration camp as an Italian military internee, but he had never told me anything about it. Perhaps that was also why I wrote that song.”
… and his views on international politics
When the album Canzoni da osteria was released, Guccini was asked for his thoughts on the conflict in the Middle East. The war in Gaza had recently begun following the October 7 massacre. Guccini spoke of “two opposing camps, two groups of supporters shouting at each other while forgetting who is caught in between: the victims.”
In 2019, he made headlines with an interview with Corriere della Sera, saying that contrary to some claims, he had never been a communist or pro-Soviet. Instead, he described himself as a longtime admirer of the Rosselli brothers, Carlo and Nello, who were murdered by fascists in 1937.
Condolences from Italy’s Jewish Community
“Guccini was a great Italian songwriter, capable of recounting the tragedy of the Holocaust in unforgettable words,” the Jewish Community of Milan said in a statement. The community added that his song “Auschwitz” (La canzone del bambino nel vento) is “one of the most powerful texts ever written about the extermination of Europe’s Jews and has introduced generations of Italians to that tragedy for decades.” The Milan Jewish Community expressed its “deepest condolences” following his death.