A while back, I stopped at a gas station in Luxembourg where owners of BMWs, Audis, and Mercedes go to fill up on slightly cheaper fuel. There was a street musician there playing an accordion. He was playing “Bella Ciao.”
Central European street musicians know their target audience remarkably well. It is precisely the privileged—those working in the secure and better-paid public sector—who feel a sense of satisfaction when they hear “Bella Ciao.” These individuals, who are better educated than most and span multiple generations, also derive pleasure from giving a coin to the performer of a song they like. Today’s street performers are truly top-notch!
And really, why shouldn't the lowest level of education improve as well? After all, it's a market too. I wouldn't be at all surprised if, in the future, you could pay the beggars with Apple Pay.
Bella-ciao, bella-ciao, bella-ciao-ciao-ciao – it doesn't have to mean anything; just the feeling of "we're singing this together" is enough.
