Generale (song)

De Gregori composed the song after a period of personal crisis, during which he had opened a bookstore, having decided to leave the music industry.^[1] The song tells the story of a General returning from war, and has been variously interpreted, including as a metaphor of De Gregori's return to music, or as a symbolic retreat from political and social engagement toward personal intimacy,^[1] or as shift from the hermeticism of his earlier works to a lighter and more immediate impressionist style.^[2]

De Gregori drew inspiration for the lyrics from a variety of sources, with primary influence from Louis-Ferdinand Céline's semi-autobiographical novel Journey to the End of the Night, alongside Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms and Mario Monicelli's film The Great War.^[1] The production of the song lasted two weeks, with De Gregori recording about 15 different versions of the song and being constantly dissatisfied with them; as he recalled, in the end 'I took one of these versions that I had discarded and said "OK, let's get this one out"'.^[1] Over the years, he eventually recorded 11 different versions of the song, varying from bolero to folk style.^[1]

Artists who covered the song include Vasco Rossi, Fiorello, Anastasio, Jimmy Cobb Trio, and Benny Neyman in a Dutch-language version titled "Jouw Verhalen".^[1]