La solitudine

Background and composition

Federico Cavalli and Pietro Cremonesi, who at the time were two songwriters with daytime jobs outside the music business, wrote the lyrics and the music of the original version of the song, respectively. Angelo Valsiglio also contributed writing both the lyrics and the music of "La solitudine". The lyrics to the Italian version of the song where are about a boy named Marco, who is separated from his girlfriend at the urging of his family and sent to live far away from her. The now former girlfriend makes an emotional and heartfelt plea, singing to him about the loneliness and pain they would feel without each other.

Interviewed by Italian journalist Gianni Minà, Pausini declared that the song is strongly autobiographical:

"In the beginning the song started with the words 'Anna se n'è andata' [Anna went away] instead of 'Marco se n'è andato'. But the rest of the story was exactly the photograph of my life until that moment [...]. I had never met those two authors before and, even if Valsiglio and the other composers continued to give me new songs, I told my father that I wanted to sing that one only, just changing the name to Marco, because the development of the song looked to be a copy of what was happening to me. Marco was my boyfriend in the same period, and this is why, when I was singing that song, I was feeling moved."

The English-language version of the song, adapted by Tim Rice, has a completely different meaning, and it doesn't contain any reference to Marco. Its lyrics are focused on the feelings of those who want to be alone in order to better understand themselves.

According to Univision's Fabiana Steinmander, Laura Pausini's "La solitudine" is a song "with a high degree of difficulty because of the number of vocal transitions and the modulation it demands of its singer".

The music video

Music videos of "La solitudine" and "La soledad" (the English version of the song did not have one), directed by Ambrogio Lo Giudice are quite simple, shot outdoors on the beach of Ostia in March, in which Laura Pausini is on a bridge playing with her dog. On the end, an image of Pausini's staff on that time is shown.

The new versions of both songs, released in 2001 for the "E ritorno da te" greatest hits album did not receive a new music video.

In 1999, both versions are inserted in the VHS "Video Collection 93-99".

Critical reception

The song received mixed to negative reviews by Italian music critics. According to la Repubblica's Gino Castaldo, "La solitudine" is not a great song, but singing it Pausini "seduced with her voice and her authentic determination". La Stampa's Marinella Venegoni wrote that, due to "La solitudine"'s "whimpering sadness", Pausini can be compared to Italian singer Marco Masini. Venegoni later described it as an immature teen-song.

Mario Luzzatto Fegiz and Gloria Pozzi wrote on the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that "La solitudine" initially looked to be a typical song built for the Sanremo Music Festival, but it is "a song without make-up, perfectly in tune with its interpret".

Chart performance

The song became a big hit in Italy, reaching the top spot on Musica e dischi's single chart on 13 March 1993, and holding the first position for a total number of three consecutive weeks. "La solitudine" also became the 15th best-selling single of 1993 in Italy.

The song was later released in the rest of Europe, reaching the top of the Belgian Singles Chart and peaking at number 5 on the French Singles Chart, where it scored 44 non-consecutive weeks in the Top 50. It also became a hit in the Netherlands, where it reached the top spot of the Dutch Top 40 and it peaked for four consecutive weeks at number 2 on the Dutch Mega Single Top 100. Since Paul de Leeuw's version of the song, "Ik wil niet dat je liegt", topped the chart during Pausini's second week in the runner-up spot, "La solitudine" became the second song in the Dutch chart's history to chart within the top 3 with two different versions at the same time. The single was also certified Platinum by the NVPI, denoting shipments in the Netherlands exceeding 75,000 copies.

During 1994, the Spanish-language version of the song charted in the United States at number 22 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and at number 5 on the Billboard Latin Pop Songs, while the English-language version, "La solitudine (Loneliness)", released in the United Kingdom only, failed to chart on the UK Singles Chart.

A new version of the song, featured on her 2001's best of album, was released as a double A-side with "Tra te e il mare" in France. In February 2002, the single reached number 16 on the French Singles Chart.

Live performances

Laura Pausini performed the song live for the first time on 23 February 1993, competing in the newcomers' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival, broadcast by Italian TV station Rai 1. The song was also performed during Pausini's Italian tour in 1993, to promote her debut self-titled album.

A live performance of the song was included in Pausini's first DVD, Live 2001–2002 World Tour, recorded at Mediolanum Forum in Milan on 2 December 2001, as well as in 2005's Live in Paris, recorded at the Zénith de Paris, and in San Siro 2007, recorded on 2 June 2007, when Pausini was the first woman to sing in the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.

In 2002 Pausini dueted with Lara Fabian, singing "La solitudine" during a French TV show recorded in Rome. On 21 June 2009, Pausini performed the song live with Italian rock singer Gianna Nannini, during the mega-concert Amiche per l'Abruzzo, involving the most important Italian female singers and organized to raise money to support the victims of the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake. The performance was also included in the DVD Amiche per l'Abruzzo, released on 22 June 2010.

In 2009 Pausini released her third live album, Laura Live World Tour 09, including a performance of "La solitudine" recorded in Naples. The Spanish version of the album, Laura Live Gira Mundial 09, features a recording of the song performed in Barcelona.

The Italian and Spanish versions of the song have been performed by Pausini in all of her concert tours up to The Greatest Hits World Tour.

Covers

In 1994, Thanos Kalliris recorded a Greek version of the song, titled "Το Νου σου κύριε Οδηγέ". In the same year Paul de Leeuw recorded a Dutch language version of "La solitudine", with the title "Ik wil niet dat je liegt" (English translation: I don't want you to lie). Filipino singer Ivy Violan also recorded a Filipino language version of the song, adapted by Alvina Sy with the title "Hanggang Ngayon" for her 1998's album with the same title.

In 1994, Brazilian singer Renato Russo recorded a cover of the Italian-language version of the song for his album Equilibrio distante. After his death, a posthumous duet with Leila Pinheiro was included in his album Duetos. The English version of the song was covered by German pop singer Jamie Stevens and included in his 2002 album Unbreakable. The Spanish singer Abraham Mateo included a cover of "La soledad" in his self-titled debut album.

Cuban timba group Bamboleo recorded a salsa version of "La soledad" for their 1996 album Te gusto o te caigo bien. A year later, DLG followed suit, recording a salsa version of "La soledad" for their 1997 album Swing On. Lead singer Huey Dunbar removed the reference to "Marco" and replaced it with "ella" (she). DLG's version also adds a spoken reggae bridge to the song, in which the woman Dunbar is singing to responds to his plea and vows to return.

In 2014, French singer of Italian origin Nyco Lilliu covered the song in Italian. The track is included in the compilation album Latin Lovers. Lilliu also released a music video for the song, but it was not an official single for him.

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from Laura Pausini liner notes.

Track listings

1. "La solitudine" – 4:04
2. "La solitudine" (Instrumental version) – 4:04

1. "La solitudine" – 4:04
2. "La soledad" (Spanish-language version) – 4:04
3. "La solitudine" (Instrumental version) – 4:04

1. "La soledad" (Spanish-language version) – 3:58
2. "La solitudine" (Original Italian-language version) – 3:56
3. "La solitudine" (Instrumental version) – 3:57

1. "La solitudine (Loneliness)" (English-language version) – 3:58
2. "La solitudine" (Original Italian Version) – 3:56
3. "La solitudine" (Instrumental) – 3:57