I am a pagan 1
And I worship pagan gods
But I live in the present
I dream of going back to the ancient times
To reevaluate paganism
Minerva, give me some matches 2
Jupiter
- Yes? What is it? -
Aid me 3
Saturn, do you know when my turn will come?
Come take me with your blue chariot 4
Come take me, let's leave this place, never to come back
Mars, try this game. Repeat:
Pack of cards, cards of pack
Pack of cards, cards of pack
Pack of cards, cards of pack
Pack of cards, cards of pack
Pack of cards, cards of pack
- Pack of cards, cards of pack
Pack of cards, cards of pack
Pads of cra-, shit, I said "pads of crack"... 5
Apollo, I really appreciate your son
For his way of crafting balls
Look, all the fishes
Came afloat to see this novelty
Chicken balls crafted by one Apelles from the ancient times 6
I tried Buddhism
But unfortunately there was people queuing
It's popular
I tried Scientology, by Ron Hubbard
But I don't like it
And now I'll sing this Latin melody 7
Tell me about Rome
Tullus Tullus Tullus Tullus Tullus Tullus Hostilius
- Marcus Aurelius went away and he's not coming back...- 8
Goddesses!
- Yes? What is it? What does he want? -
Give me ideas 9
Gods, mayday 10
Idols, give me reasons to go on 11
Because I have no more
Here's the reasons you asked
You, who were complaining about a lack in the cult, 12
Receive for free this very rare bootleg of Caesar who
Will teach you how to build a bridge 13
[He devised this plan of a bridge. He joined together, at the distance of two feet, two piles, each a foot and a half thick, sharpened a little at the lower end, and proportioned in length to the depth of the river.] 14
Thanks Julius for this advice for the bridge
I'll built one here, right away
To unite shores that could not be reached before
- Like the strait of Messina -
I'll take advantage of the Pompeus' amnesty for infringement of building regulations
And then I'll subcontract it to my friend Gaius Volusenus
To make a dream come true, like that of Phonopolis 15
I am Pagani... 16
1. the title has an accent added on the second A, so that it can't be mistaken for the homographic term "pàgano" ("they pay").2. "minerva" is commonly used in Italian to refer to matches, after the name of a popular Italian matchstick maker.3. pun on "Giove" (= "Jupiter") and "giovare" (= "to aid")4. quoting an old song by Giorgio Gaber, called "Blue Torpedo".5. repeating the words "mazzo di carte", Mars ends up saying "cazzo di Marte" (= "Mars' dick")6. a reference to an Italian tongue-twister, which says "Apelles, son of Apollo, crafted a ball from chicken skin, all fishes came afloat to see the chicken skin ball crafted by Apelles, son of Apollo".7. this last verse is sung in the (modern) Rome dialect8. this part is sung by the Italian singer Laura Pausini, as a self-reference to her own first success, a song called "La solitudine", which begins with the words "Marco went away and he's not coming back".9. pun on "dee" (= "goddesses") and "idee" (= "ideas")10. pun on "dèi" (= "gods") and "mayday", which also sounds like "miei dèi" (= "my gods").11. pun on "idoli" (= "idols") and "stimoli" (= "incentives, reasons".12. "buco nel culto" (= "a lack in the cult") sounds like "buco del culo" (="ass hole")13. this part is sung by Italian comedian Maurizio Crozza, showing his background as an opera singer. He also contributes to other songs in this album.14. De bello gallico, IV, chapter 17. Voiced by Italian singer Enrico Ruggeri, who is a friend of the band and oftern shows up in their albums for some cameos.15. a reference to a proposal made in 1992 by Italian singer Renato Zero of building a music laboratory, a "city of music", in Rome. This project, never realised, has become an inside joke for the band, quoting it in many songs and concerts.16. reference to the surname of Mauro Pagani, Italian multi-instrumentalist, former violinist of the Italian prog-band PFM, and also a producer who collaborated with many musicians, including the Elio&LST.