“Alla fiera dell’est” (1976) – Angelo Branduardi * Written by Angelo Branduardi * LP: Alla fiera dell’est * Arrangements and direction by Maurizio Fabrizio * Label: Polydor
Song created by the Italian troubadour Branduardi with circular, repetitive lyrics reminiscent of “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” or “This Is the House that Jack Built.” With images, musical motifs, and instrumentation that tapped in to historical traditions from Israel to the UK, the song became a familiar nursery rhyme in short order, and Branduardi would perform it as a leaping pied piper. It tells the tale of a fairground purchase of a mouse, which sets off a chain events that ultimately requires intervention from the Almighty. An English version of the song, with lyrics translated by Pete Sinfield as “Highdown Fair,” came out in 1978.