Inferno is the Italian word for "hell". It's a powerful and dramatic word that immediately adds emotional weight to the lyrics.
In this song, Noemi sings about the painful push-and-pull of a difficult relationship. She says she would want to stay with her partner "anche se fosse l'inferno" (even if it were hell), powerfully expressing her conflicting desire for a connection she knows is destructive.
This song is all about a relationship that the singer knows is a total disaster, but she just can't quite quit. Noemi starts with some incredibly blunt lines, calling the relationship "l'unico errore" [the only mistake] and saying that being with this person is "perdere tempo" [losing time]. They have moments of affection, but it's just "amarsi un minuto per odiarsi a lungo" [loving each other for a minute to hate each other for a long time]. It's a classic summer romance that went wrong, and now she's trying to end it for good.
But here's the twist. After declaring "questo bacio è l'ultimo" [this kiss is the last one], she immediately asks, "Ma tu, ma tu, ma tu / Tu cosa fai questa sera" [But you, but you, but you / What are you doing tonight?]. It's that moment of weakness we've all felt. She's caught between wanting to see him again and hoping she never runs into him for "una vita intera" [an entire lifetime]. The whole song is this push and pull between knowing it's better to leave and wanting to stay, even if it feels like hell.
Noemi, born Veronica Scopelliti in Rome in 1982, is one of Italy's most recognizable pop and soul voices. She first captured the public's attention in 2009 on the second season of the Italian talent show X Factor, and her debut single "Briciole" soon climbed to number two on the Italian singles chart.
Since then she has released a string of studio albums and become a familiar face at the Sanremo Music Festival, with songs like "Sono solo parole", "Glicine" and "Ti amo non lo so dire". Her rich, powerful voice and heartfelt songwriting have made her a mainstay of contemporary Italian music.
"Tu cosa fai questa sera" is a collaboration with Vito Salamanca, an Italian producer and artist known for blending modern hip hop with vintage, Latin-tinged influences.