The work was highly successful, mostly thanks to the title track, and established him as one of the most popular singer-songwriters in Italy.

As usual for Vecchioni, the lyrics mix autobiographical themes such as love life, nostalgia with literary and poetical ones.

"Samarcanda", is inspired to an Oriental fable (sometimes called "Appointment in Samarra") and is about a soldier who, in a feast to celebrate the end of the war, sees Death in the form of an old woman amongst the crowd.

"L'ultimo spettacolo" is a long ballad beginning with a slow motif about Homer's heroes, but finishing with more dramatic lyrics describing the departure of Vecchioni's wife to meet her lover.

The episode of the singer accompanying her to the platform of the train to Turin will reappear in several of his future songs, such as "Vorrei" (in the album Robinson) and Montecristo (in the Lp with the same name).