Alabastro translates to "alabaster," a beautiful, translucent stone often used for sculptures. It's a less common word in everyday Italian, making it intriguing and memorable.
In the song, Marco Mengoni contrasts "avorio" (ivory) with "alabastro" to describe his feelings. He says, "Quello che provo per te sembra avorio ma invece è alabastro" (What I feel for you seems like ivory but instead it's alabaster). This suggests his emotions are deeper, more complex, and perhaps more fragile or luminous than they initially appear, adding a poetic layer to his expression of love.
"Ma stasera" ("But Tonight") is about watching a relationship slip away in real time. The singer opens by admitting he probably said the wrong thing, and pictures himself and his partner as "monsters in the glass," both changed by whatever came between them.
The chorus holds the song's core image: tonight she's moving too fast for him to catch, and reaching her means letting her go. Her voice still feels close even as she pulls away, and he refuses to run from that pull, chasing what might be an illusion while hoping it could last forever.
The second verse widens the picture: nights out feel empty without her, home is full of people but feels like a desert, and he knows she looked for him elsewhere even while still choosing to stay. By the bridge he turns the hurt on himself, hating how she makes him feel disposable, like an idea she could burn.
The song ends on a repeated "andare via" ("going away"), the outcome he's been fighting the whole time: however hard he chases, she's still leaving.
Marco Mengoni is an Italian singer-songwriter born on December 25, 1988, in Ronciglione, Italy. He rose to fame in 2009 after winning the third season of "X Factor Italy," and became one of Italy's most celebrated pop and soul artists in the years that followed.
Mengoni has won the Sanremo Music Festival twice, in 2013 with "L'Essenziale" and again in 2023 with "Due Vite," which also represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest. Known for his powerful, soulful voice and emotionally direct lyrics, he has released multiple platinum-certified albums and remains one of the most streamed Italian artists both at home and internationally.