“Signor Lieutenant”: why Faletti’s song works on TV

“A cry that pierces the silence of silence”: this is how Jake La Furia, last night, during the first episode of X Factor 2025, presented Delia’s performance on the notes of “Mr. Lieutenant” by Giorgio Faletti. The one proposed by the young Sicilian singer was one of the most talked about covers of the first live appointment of the Sky Uno talent show: Delia, born in 1999, originally from Catania, revisited the song with which Faletti in 1994 took inspiration for the lyrics from the Capaci and Via D’Amelio massacres and in general the attacks carried out in those years by organized crime. He did so creating an original mash up between the song by the late Piedmontese singer-songwriter, writer, actor and comedian, presented in competition at the 1994 Sanremo Festival, and “Brucia la terra” by Nino Rota, winning a standing ovation. The results of the televoting have not been made known (Sky will reveal the data for all the episodes only after the X Factor final, scheduled for 4 December in Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples), but following the debut of the new edition of the talent show, Delia’s performance is the second most viewed on YouTube of the first episode, behind only that of PierC (Piercesare Fagioli, with “Rocket man” by Elton John). Proof of the ability of Faletti’s song, after more than thirty years, to involve the public.

The one proposed by Delia last night on X Factor, in fact, is not the first successful television cover of “Mr. Lieutenant”. In 2017, Marco Masini reinterpreted the piece. The Tuscan singer-songwriter performed a poignant cover of “Signor lieutenant” at the Sanremo Festival that year, finishing in third place in the cover evening. “I believe that this song was unjustly put in the attic, because it represented a moment of great relevance and can still do so: fears change – terrorism, mafia… – but the result is the same. At that moment I felt all the courage of Giorgio Faletti, who gave me the strength to sing the song”, explained Masini, who also released as a single his version of the song presented by Faletti at the Ariston in ’94.

With “Signor lieutenant” at the 1994 Sanremo Festival Giorgio Faletti surprised everyone. That was the first public appearance as a busy singer-songwriter of a Faletti who until then had been known mainly as a comedian. That contrast, also combined with the interpretation of the text, in an emotional crescendo that includes moments of silence and tension, increased the impact of the performance. With “Signor lieutenant” the Piedmontese artist came in second place in the final ranking of the singing festival (for the record: Aleandro Baldi won with “Passerà”), winning the Critics’ Award. The text was born in a dramatic climate for Italy: the mafia attacks of 1992-93 (the Capaci massacre and the Via D’Amelio massacre) were still close in the collective memory. The text has agents as its protagonists of one police patrol “stuck on the provincial road”, in difficult conditions, and reflects on sacrifice, sense of duty, risk and the fight against the mafia. Every time it is presented again, it recalls the Italian collective memory, part of the country’s history.

Little curiosity: initially the title was supposed to be “Mr. Sergeant” but it was changed to avoid issues of military rank. Over the years, “Mr. Lieutenant” continued to circulate, dbecoming a sort of musical testimony of the period and a “repertoire” piece of the song of commitment in Italy.