Volo

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a picture of youthful, almost involuntary, escapism fueled by burgeoning desire. The opening lines set a scene of drowsy distraction, where the narrator's attention is immediately captured by a girl with "red-painted nails." This external focus becomes an internal escape, a "flight" from the mundane reality of "98 barrato otto della mattina" (8:08 AM) and the journey to school. The repeated phrase "Sapeva mica quello che avevo in mente" (She didn't know what I had in mind) highlights the private, unexpressed nature of these burgeoning thoughts. The core tension lies in the contrast between the narrator's inner world of fantasy and the external, often tedious, reality. The "flight" isn't literal but a mental and emotional soaring, specifically directed "dentro la camicetta" (inside the blouse) and "dentro la sua maglietta" (inside her t-shirt). This imagery suggests a fixation on the physical presence and implied intimacy, a potent escape from the ordinary. The lyrics employ a powerful, almost surreal, metaphor of "flying" to describe this state of heightened awareness and desire. This "volo" (flight) is triggered by specific sensory details and imagined scenarios, like the "Espresso delle 21 da Roma a Milano" (9 PM express from Rome to Milan) or the clandestine encounters on a train. The repetition of "E cominciavo a volare" (And I began to fly) emphasizes how these moments of fantasy offer a profound, albeit temporary, transcendence. This lyrical construction is effective because it captures the overwhelming, almost disorienting, power of adolescent longing. The specific, grounded details – the time, the train, the clothing – anchor the fantastical "flight," making the emotional experience feel both intensely personal and universally understood. The narrator's internal world becomes a vibrant, liberating space, a stark contrast to the passive observation of his surroundings.