Sulla Giostra Lyrics in English Fabri Fibra , Neffa
Giostra literally means "carousel" or "merry-go-round". It's an interesting word because it evokes a sense of childhood fun and a cyclical, repetitive motion.
In Fabri Fibra's song, "Sulla Giostra" (On the Carousel), the word is used metaphorically to represent the music industry or the pursuit of fame and success. Everyone wants a "posto fisso sulla giostra" (a fixed spot on the carousel), implying a desire for stability and recognition in a fast-paced, often superficial world. It's a clever way to describe the endless cycle of trying to stay relevant and popular.
Fabri Fibra uses one image for the whole song: fame is a fairground ride, and everyone wants a permanent seat on it. There is a queue outside the club, the people with the right connections walk straight in, the touts make their money off the crowd, and the very top of the scene sits shut away in the VIP room. Everyone else waits their turn on the carousel.
The verses pull the curtain back on what that ride actually costs. He spends the whole week writing rhymes until Wednesday feels like Saturday. He cannot leave the house without being asked for a selfie or handed someone's record to listen to. New rappers appear and disappear inside two months, and the moment anything works, everyone copies it. The advice he gives is blunt and a little tired: put the money in your pocket, because people are going to talk either way.
Neffa's chorus keeps the ride turning while Fibra counts what it takes to stay on it. By the end the tone tips from observation into something closer to a challenge. The carousel has started, the whole crowd is already here for it, and the question left hanging is whether you are getting on.
The title, sulla giostra, literally means "on the carousel". In everyday Italian a giostra is the roundabout at a funfair, and figuring it out is most of the song: bright, loud, going in circles, and over as soon as you step off.
