A piano, a fragile voice, then that chorus that silences an entire hall: «Due vite» by Marco Mengoni is one of those songs you find yourself humming after hearing it just once. In 2023, Mengoni won the Sanremo Festival with it—ten years after his first triumph—and took the song all the way to fourth place at the Eurovision Song Contest. It tells the story of the two lives that run parallel within each of us.
Profile
- Artist: Marco Mengoni
- Published: February 8, 2023 (single); album *Materia (Prisma)*, the final installment of his *Materia* trilogy
- Lyrics/Music: Marco Mengoni, Davide „Tropico“ Petrella, Davide Simonetta (Production: Davide Simonetta & E.D.D.)
- Genre: Pop, Singer-Songwriter
- Special features: Winner of Sanremo 2023, 4th place at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, six-time platinum in Italy
The Story Behind the Song
When Marco Mengoni returned to the Sanremo Festival in February 2023, he was by no means a newcomer. He had first gained fame on the talent show «X Factor» in 2009, and in 2013 he won Sanremo with «L’essenziale.» Ten years later, he competed with «Due vite»—and dominated the festival from the first night to the last. In the end, he secured a clear victory, which made him Italy’s representative at the Eurovision Song Contest for the second time.
Mengoni wrote the song together with Davide „Tropico“ Petrella and Davide Simonetta—two of the most sought-after songwriters in contemporary Italian pop. Instead of going for a big radio-friendly chorus, they chose a more subdued approach: a ballad that builds slowly and draws its power from its restraint. The single was released on the festival’s opening day and shortly thereafter became part of «Materia (Prisma),» the final chapter of Mengoni’s three-part album series «Materia.».
What is «Due vite» about?
The title sets the tone: it’s about the „two lives“ that coexist within a person. On the one hand, there’s the outer, everyday life with its duties and routines; on the other, the inner life that one rarely shows to anyone—the thoughts at three in the morning, the doubts, the quiet longings.
Mengoni illustrates this through small, intimate scenes: sleepless nights, a shared bed, arguments and reconciliation, familiar objects in familiar rooms. But behind the love story between two people lies the true relationship that the song brings into focus—the one with oneself. Ultimately, «Due vite» is an invitation to embrace life in all its contradictions, rather than constantly lamenting what might have been.
Lyrics & Meaning
Because the text is protected by copyright, we will not reproduce it line by line here, but will instead explain the meaning of the most important images and stanzas.
The opening feels like a glimpse into the late night: Everything is quiet, the world seems to be asleep, yet thoughts continue to race. Mengoni captures this moment between waking and dreaming, when one’s inner life can no longer be suppressed. It is the hour when the „two lives“ collide.
At the heart of the song is the image of the two parallel lives that the same person leads—the life lived and the life imagined. The chorus does not turn this into a lament, but rather a tender observation: that both sides belong together and that it is precisely the unfinished, the unresolved, that is part of being human.
A striking passage shifts the focus from romantic love to the self. What at first sounds like a song about a relationship turns out to be a soliloquy: the most important person you need to make peace with is yourself. The conclusion ultimately dissolves the heaviness of the night into a sense of confidence—a quiet “yes” to carrying on with life, with everything that comes with it.
«Due vite» on video
The official music video (directed by Roberto Ortu) was filmed in the vast dunes of Piscinas on the southwest coast of Sardinia—an almost desert-like landscape that perfectly captures the feeling of vastness and inner solitude. With nearly 100 million views, it became the most-watched Italian music video of 2023.
Below, you can watch a special live performance of «Due vite»: Marco Mengoni’s performance in the final of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, where he took fourth place for Italy.
Want to listen to the song right away? You can find «Due vite» on all major platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.
That's what makes this song special
«Due vite» became one of the most successful songs of Mengoni’s entire career. In Italy, it achieved six-time platinum status and remained on the charts for months; on Spotify, it racked up tens of millions of streams. At the Eurovision Song Contest, Mengoni impressed both the international juries and the audience, finishing in fourth place with 350 points—and also won the Marcel Bezençon Prize for best songwriting.
It’s remarkable how much the song goes against the grain: no danceable hook, no summer catchy tune, but rather a quiet, almost melancholic ballad that nonetheless reached millions. That is precisely where Mengoni’s strength lies—conveying big emotions with understated means. «Due vite» won multiple awards at the 2023 TIM Music Awards and the 2024 SIAE Music Awards and is now considered one of the defining Italian pop songs of the decade.
A Song That Stays With You
«Due vite» is more than just a festival winner: it’s a song about finding yourself, wrapped up in a melody you just can’t get out of your head. With this song, Mengoni proves that even in 2023, Italian pop can still do what it’s always done best—turn a quiet, personal truth into a song that an entire country sings along to. Anyone interested in the great Italian Sanremo moments will find «Occidentali’s Karma» by Francesco Gabbani An intriguing comparison of two very different paths from the festival to Eurovision.
