Gente di mare

"Gente di mare" ("People of the sea") was the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987, performed in Italian by Umberto Tozzi & Raf.

Italy "Gente di mare"
Eurovision Song Contest 1987 entry
Country
Artist(s)
As
Umberto Tozzi & Raf
Language
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
  • Umberto Tozzi
  • Raffaele Riefoli
Conductor
Gianfranco Lombardi
Finals performance
Final result
3rd
Final points
103
Entry chronology
◄ "Magic Oh Magic" (1985)
"Vivo (Ti scrivo)" (1988) ►

The song is a blues-influenced ballad, in which the singers describe the qualities of the "people of the sea". They describe themselves as "people of the plain", who are "prisoners of this city", while contrasting that with the freedom of the people of the sea "who leave [things] behind".

The song was performed seventh on the night, following Sweden's Lotta Engberg with "Boogaloo" and preceding Portugal's Nevada with "Neste barco à vela". At the close of voting, it had received 103 points, placing 3rd in a field of 22.

While not winning the contest, the song achieved considerable popularity, becoming a Top 10 hit in most parts of Continental Europe and Scandinavia in the summer of 1987 (#7 in Switzerland, #8 in Austria, #6 in Sweden)[1] and was included on the compilations of Winners and Classics produced to coincide with the Congratulations special in late 2005.

It was succeeded as Italian representative at the 1988 contest by Luca Barbarossa with "Vivo (Ti scrivo)".

Dutch-language covers

Dutch satirists Henk Spaan and Harry Vermeegen performed the song in 1988 on their successful TV show Verona as "Ach, laat maar waaien". A Dutch reworked version, called "Alles kwijt" was done by Marco Borsato.

Charts
Chart (1987) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[2] 8
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[3] 5
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[4] 20
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[5] 21
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[6] 6
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[7] 7
Italy (FIMI)[8] 3
West Germany (Official German Charts)[9] 39

References
  1. Swiss charts.com
  2. "Tozzi - Raff – Gente di mare" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  3. "Tozzi - Raff – Gente di mare" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  4. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Tozzi - Raff" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  5. "Tozzi - Raff – Gente di mare" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  6. "Tozzi - Raff – Gente di mare". Singles Top 100.
  7. "Tozzi - Raff – Gente di mare". Swiss Singles Chart.
  8. "Tozzi - Raf – Gente di mare". Top Digital Download.
  9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Tozzi - Raff – Gente di mare" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 19 February 2019.

"Gente di mare" audio on YouTube

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