Brief presentation
A dark and ironic song, freely inspired by the medieval poem “S’i’ fosse foco” by Cecco Angiolieri.
If I Were Fire turns the original provocation into a rough and theatrical ballad suspended between satire, defiance and solitude.
Lyrics
If I were fire,
I would burn the world.
If I were wind,
I would raise the storm.
If I were water,
I would drown the land.
If I were God,
I would cast it down.
But I am what I am,
and what I used to be,
a crooked-hearted man
between saints and thieves.
I am what I am,
with no crown and no throne,
I laugh at the world
and burn alone.
If I were Pope,
I would trouble every soul.
If I were emperor,
I would tear down every throne.
I would shake the mighty,
I would mock the proud,
I would leave their golden crowns
buried in the ground.
But I am what I am,
and what I used to be,
a crooked-hearted man
between saints and thieves.
I am what I am,
with no crown and no throne,
I laugh at the world
and burn alone.
If I were death,
I’d go to my father.
If I were life,
I would not stay with him.
And the same I’d do
with my mother,
for some old loves
cannot save anything.
If I were Cecco,
as I am and was,
I’d take my joy
where laughter still runs.
I’d choose young beauty,
bright eyes and wine,
and leave old sorrow
to another man’s night.
I am what I am,
and what I used to be,
a wicked little heart
singing misery.
I am what I am,
with no crown and no throne,
a man who keeps laughing
while the world falls down.
If I were fire,
I would burn the world.
But I am only Cecco,
and I burn alone.
Notes
If I Were Fire is a musical reworking freely inspired by the medieval poem “S’i’ fosse foco” by Cecco Angiolieri.
The song preserves the rebellious and ironic spirit of the original text while reshaping it into a darker and more personal ballad. Its voice is harsh, mocking and restless: a man who challenges power, religion, family and the world itself, and ends in the bitter awareness of his own loneliness.
Listen to the song