Brividi (Eurovision 2022 Italy) Lyrics in English by Mahmood, BLANCO
Brividi literally translates to "shivers" or "chills". It's a beautiful, evocative word that perfectly captures the emotional core of this powerful ballad.
In the song, "brividi" represents the intense physical reaction to both love and fear. It's the shiver of thrilling passion and the chill of paralyzing vulnerability, a feeling of being exposed and overwhelmed by emotion, as expressed in the line "Nudo con i brividi" (Naked with shivers).
"Brividi" is a powerful ballad from Italian artist Mahmood and his collaborator BLANCO about a love that's falling apart. The song is all about the difficulty of expressing your feelings and the fear of being vulnerable in a relationship. It opens with a gorgeous, impossible image: "Ho sognato di volare con te / Su una bici di diamanti" (I dreamed of flying with you / On a diamond bicycle). But this dream quickly crashes into a harsh reality where one partner says to the other, "sei cambiato non vedo / Più la luce nei tuoi occhi" (you've changed, I no longer see / the light in your eyes).
The whole song feels like this push and pull between wanting to love someone perfectly and messing it up completely. The singers admit, "ti vorrei amare, ma sbaglio sempre" (I'd like to love you, but I always get it wrong). They feel exposed and afraid, left "Nudo con i brividi" (Naked with shivers). This central idea of getting shivers—from fear, from cold, from love—is what the song returns to again and again. It's a confession of being unable to say the right thing, of mixing "droghe e lacrime" (drugs and tears) for an 'I love you', and feeling trapped in a relationship that's become toxic.
