1970s Italian singer made an American-sounding 'gibberish' to prove a point — and he was right

Most songs on our playlists carry meaning, often sorted by lyrics, genre, or the feelings they evoke. Songwriters, too, create music shaped by themes and personal connections. But Italian singer Adriano Celentano broke the mold in 1972 with a hit song that made no sense yet won hearts everywhere. His track, “Prisencolinensinainciusol,” sounds like an American rock anthem but is neither in English nor Italian. The lyrics are entirely nonsensical, with each line composed of absurd, made-up words.

Even decades after its initial release, people continue to listen to the song over social media platforms and music streaming services where some still think it's an American rock song. However, Celentano had a reason for creating “Prisencolinensinainciusol.” Celentano wanted to test how much Italy is obsessed with American music, per Rolling Stone Italia. So he composed the track, which feels like it is sung with an American accent, but upon listening carefully, the lyrics do not have any meaning. This song was released during the year when artists like Elvis Presley and Brenton Wood were at the height of their fame and had gained a significant fanbase in Italy as well.

“I like American slang — which, for a singer, is much easier to sing than Italian — I thought that I would write a song which would only have as its theme the inability to communicate,” he explained in 2012 in an interview with NPR, adding how American music inspired him. “And to do this, I had to write a song where the lyrics didn’t mean anything.” Celentano already had loyal listeners in his home country when he released "Prisencolinensinainciusol" and after the release of the song, his fame across the globe skyrocketed. According to VOX, he even gained the title of "Italian Elvis Presley" and is the only Italian singer who has sold more than 70 million albums so far.

"I hope to live a little longer. I have about twenty years of thinking I am in the descending phase of life and I have started thinking about the next life. For this life, I do not expect anything, for the next, I have my projects. I regret that I did not study when I could. Now I like to study, once I did not like. Maybe I would already be another person with collars. I had never dreamed of singing," he said, per the outlet, mentioning how he initially started earning as a watchmaker but decided to become an artist in the late 1950s. A now 86-year-old Celentano not only had an illustrious music career but also found success starring in films like "Give Sugar Monkeys." Celentano also served in the military starting in 1961 and then ended up starring in almost 40 films and moved on to a career as a television moderator in 1987, per the outlet.ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ