Controsenso literally translates to "against sense" or "counter-sense," meaning a contradiction or something illogical.
In this song, Mina sings, "Ti amavo ed era un controsenso" (I loved you and it was a contradiction). This word beautifully captures the complexity and often irrational nature of love, where feelings can defy logic and reason. It's an intriguing word that invites listeners to explore the emotional depth of the lyrics.
Have you ever felt a love so strong and complicated that it felt like a contradiction? In "Non Ti Lascerò," the singer explores this very feeling. She describes a love that seemed like a "waste of time" to others, a love she tried to let go of many times, even attempting to replace it with fleeting one-night stands. She admits to the internal conflict, singing, "I loved you and it was a contradiction / I hated you and it was a lie."
Despite the turmoil and the moments of wanting to give up, she comes to a powerful conclusion. She realizes that what's convenient isn't always what's right for the heart. The song becomes a powerful declaration of commitment, a promise not to let go. She decides to hold on to this "damned love" because their shared dreams have blossomed into "flowers of passion" that are too alive to abandon. It's a song about choosing to fight for a difficult but profound love, recognizing that a true feeling, once lit, can never be extinguished.
Mina was born Anna Maria Mazzini in Busto Arsizio, Lombardy, in 1940 and grew up in Cremona, which is why Italians still call her "la Tigre di Cremona". She started out in 1958 singing rock and roll in clubs, and within a couple of years she was all over Italian radio and television, with a three-octave voice that could go from a whisper to a roar in one phrase.
She is known for songs like "Tintarella di luna", "Se telefonando", "Grande, grande, grande" and "Parole parole", her talking duet with Alberto Lupo. In 1978 she gave her last public concert at Bussoladomani in Versilia, recorded as "Mina Live '78", and then stopped performing live for good. She moved to Switzerland and kept releasing an album almost every year from the studio, including a best-selling duet album with Adriano Celentano in 1998, and she is the only artist to top the Italian album chart in every decade since the 1960s.