«Tu» by Umberto Tozzi: Meaning & Lyrics

A single word for a title, a chorus you can sing along to, and a summer at the top of the charts: that’s all «Tu» needed. Umberto Tozzi released the song as a single in 1978 on the Milan-based record label CGD, and it held the No. 1 spot on the Italian charts in June and July. The title simply translates to „You,“ and that’s exactly what it’s all about: a woman who turns the narrator’s world upside down so much that he wants to change the whole world for her.

A year after «Ti amo,» Tozzi proved that he wasn’t just a one-hit wonder. «Tu» also reached No. 1 in Switzerland and Spain, No. 5 in Austria, and the single was released from Canada to Argentina, and from Portugal to Turkey.

How did «Tu» come about?

Umberto Tozzi was born in Turin on March 4, 1952. At age 16, he played guitar in the Turin band Off Sound; later, he moved to Milan, the capital of the Italian recording industry. There, his most important collaborator became Giancarlo Bigazzi, the Florentine lyricist and producer with whom he had written «Ti amo» in 1977.

Following this success, the duo was under pressure—and they delivered. For «Tu,» Tozzi and Bigazzi once again collaborated on the lyrics and music; the arrangement was written by Franco Monaldi, who also conducted the recording. Bigazzi served as producer, and Tozzi is additionally credited as co-producer on the album cover.

The single, featuring «Perdendo Anna» on the B-side, was released in the spring of 1978 by CGD, followed shortly thereafter by the album of the same name. In June and July 1978, «Tu» topped the Italian charts and remained on the charts for more than 20 weeks. Internationally, CBS released the song throughout Europe and the Americas. It reached No. 1 in Switzerland and Spain, No. 5 in Austria, and No. 17 in West Germany.

What is «Tu» about?

«Tu» is a love song about both desire and doubt. The narrator is captivated by a woman who is unlike any other, and yet he fears she might slip away from him at any moment.

Unlike in «Ti amo,» this song isn’t about guilt and reconciliation, but about the exhilaration of the beginning. The song addresses the woman directly, and the word in the title appears again and again at the beginning of each line. In this way, the smallest pronoun in the Italian language becomes a chorus that sticks in your mind.

The Lyrics, Verse by Verse

You can find the full lyrics on Spotify and Apple Music; here, we’re focusing on his imagery. The first verses are playful and sensual. The narrator invites the woman over, teases her, asks her age, and tells her about his unusual job. Up close, he finds her more beautiful than ever before, and Bigazzi captures the lightheartedness of the encounter in a single image foam rubber, that is, foam rubber.

Then things get more serious. The woman awakens a passion in him that he himself, as a child, follia describes it as madness. He wants to travel the world singing and wake up everyone who is still dreaming. For the young woman he sees as sad, he wishes for rain that will make everything bloom, a wind that will die down, and a sky that is bluer than before.

The last stanza veers into doubt. To him, the woman seems as fleeting as a bar of soap slipping from one’s hand. He needs her like the air he breathes and begs her not to miraggio to be real, not a mirage. It is precisely this blend of exuberance and insecurity that makes the song more than just a summer hit.

Who played on the recording of «Tu»?

Behind the hit was a regular studio band. Tozzi himself played guitar and sang; Tore Melillo played second guitar; Guido Guglielminetti played bass; Euro Cristiani played drums; and Roberto Zanaboni played keyboards. Cristiani even wrote his own song for the album, «Sogno CB.».

Franco Monaldi wrote the arrangement for this ensemble and conducted the recording; sound engineer Antonio Pisanello was at the mixing console. The nine-track album was released under catalog number CGD 20058; the photos for the cover were taken by Mauro Balletti, the photographer best known for his album covers for Mina.

«Tu» in the video

At the very top of this post is the original 1978 recording in the official audio version released by Warner Music Italy, which is now releasing Tozzi’s early recordings. Below that, you can see Tozzi at Festivalbar 1978, the major summer competition for Italian pop music, which he had won a year earlier with «Ti amo.» Although the 1978 competition was won by Alunni del Sole, a pop band, with «Liù,» the performance shows just how ubiquitous «Tu» was that summer. The video is from the singer’s official channel.

Available for listening on streaming services:

Who covered «Tu»?

Unlike in «Ti amo» or «Gloria», which turned Dalida and Laura Branigan into international hits, «Tu» traveled the world primarily in Tozzi’s own voice. CBS released the single in 1978 in France, Germany, Greece, and Portugal; Epic released it in Spain and Colombia; and there were also releases in Canada, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Costa Rica, and Turkey. In Poland, the song was even released by the Tonpress label as a single-sided audio postcard.

Tozzi himself has never removed the song from his set list. On May 5, 2024, he sang «Tu» along with «Ti amo» on «Domenica In,» Rai’s long-running Sunday program. This brought the song back into the spotlight shortly after he announced his retirement from the stage.

Turin: Umberto Tozzi's hometown

Before Tozzi launched his career in Milan, he played with the band Off Sound in his hometown of Turin, the capital of Piedmont on the Po River. The city of the Mole Antonelliana—the 167-meter-tall landmark that houses the National Film Museum—remains a hub for concerts and musical culture in northern Italy to this day.

On March 15, 2024, Tozzi announced his retirement from the stage at the Olympia in Paris. The «L’ultima notte rosa, The Final Tour» kicked off in May 2024 in Malta and took him from the Baths of Caracalla in Rome to a sold-out show at the Arena di Verona on October 5, 2025. If you’d like to explore Tozzi’s hometown for yourself, check out our overview of the Turin Attractions The top highlights and tips.

Conclusion: a single word that went around the world

«Tu» turns the shortest declaration of love in the Italian language into a summer hit, blending exuberance with a quiet fear of loss. If you want to explore more of Tozzi's heyday, listen to this next «Gloria» from 1979 or returns to «Ti amo» Back to the song that started it all in 1977. You can find all the song profiles in our overview of the Italian music.