Pensiero (song)

"Pensiero" ('Thought') is a 1971 song composed by Roby Facchinetti and Valerio Negrini and performed by the Italian musical group Pooh.

Background
The music of the song was composed by Roby Facchinetti with the intent of being performed chorally by all members of the group. Against the will of their producer and their record company, the lyrics deal with social criticism and tell the story of a man unjustly imprisoned. The tensions between the producer Giancarlo Lucariello and the drummer and lyricist Valerio Negrini eventually led to Negrini leaving the group (even if keeping on collaborating with them as lyricist) and being replaced by Stefano D'Orazio.

Release
The single was released on 28 September 1971 and it was the second Pooh single in a row to top the Italian hit parade. It sold over 850,000 copies. Pooh also recorded the song in Spanish as "Pensamiento". In 1998, Negrini and Facchinetti sued for plagiarism Alanis Morissette for the song "Mary Jane", eventually losing the case.