A Cosa Pensano

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a picture of mundane adult life juxtaposed with a yearning for something more, a hidden interiority. We open with images of "crossed legs in studies and offices" and a "newspaper in the bushes," suggesting routine and perhaps discreet observation. The line "we ran out of gas in the open countryside" feels like a sudden halt to momentum, a moment of unexpected stillness that allows for reflection on a "warm breath felt even in winter" and a "dense wind children don't feel." This hints at a deeper, perhaps more adult, sensory experience or awareness that is absent in childhood. The central tension lies in the repeated question: "What do they think?" This curiosity is directed at people in various professions – shopkeepers, novelists, girlfriends, announcers, players, professors – and their private thoughts or dreams during their actions. It's a fascination with the unseen mental lives of others, the gap between outward performance and inner experience. The narrator seems to be searching for a common thread, a shared secret or a universal human consciousness that exists beneath the surface of everyday activities. The narrator's own past offers a contrast to this adult world. As a child, she sought "nudes in museums," pursued by "guardians of the usual gray," and went to the sea "to breathe," seeking "secrets in the shadow of the cabins." This suggests an early, rebellious curiosity and a desire for unfiltered experience, a rejection of societal constraints and the mundane. The "cinture di castità" (chastity belts) attributed to relatives further emphasize a feeling of repression or restriction that the narrator has always sought to escape. This exploration of hidden desires and private worlds culminates in the later verses, which directly address the unspoken aspects of adult relationships and actions. Lines like "The inner life, the romance novels" and "Even mothers make love often / But in silence not to be heard" explicitly point to the secret, often unacknowledged, emotional and physical lives people lead. The repeated chorus, asking what these individuals are thinking or dreaming, becomes a plea to understand this hidden dimension, suggesting that the true essence of life lies not in the outward actions but in these concealed thoughts and desires.