The protagonist of the song is a drug addict who, on the verge of death, imagines seeing glass pixies, the bounds of infinity and the sound of silence.

A free rewrite of "Le Père Noël et la Petite Fille", a Georges Brassens song from 1960, "Leggenda di Natale" is about the loss, destruction and violation of innocence, told through the story of a girl who remembers her childhood, during which she was raped by an unknown man.

However, while Villon asks for pity for the condemned, those in the lyrics of De André and Bentivoglio express rancor for the ones who judged, buried, and even remembered, all of whom will inevitably also meet their ends.

As the title says, this piece juxtaposes spoken verses with a chorus sung by an operatic choir - both accompanied by a chorale orchestral tune composed by Gian Piero Reverberi in the style of Johann Sebastian Bach.

The lyrics, first recited by De André with a pointed, accusatory tone and then sung by the choir in a lighter, fairytale style, make the case that a merciful outlook should underpin all human affairs, as death waits patiently for each of us regardless of our station in life.