By Alex Madrigal
okay, so i'm sorry that this song is in spanish. But i think it's worth it. It's by a band called Cafe Tacuba. The band is very very very eclectic and plays many different styles even though they are usually just described as spanish rock. The band plays everything from ska (rarotonga), alternative rock(eres), and; as seen in this song, more traditional mexican styles. (they even dress the part in this video)
Best of all... one of the member of the band regularly plays the melodica... what's not to like?
I love the simplicity of this song... it could be played using only the guitar (and melodion of course) and it will be just as beautiful.
This song is a ballad about a woman who was beautiful but stuck up... now... i believe that in the song... she's dead, i've had discussions with others who believe that she's not really dead, but it's just "as if" she were dead. I translated the lyrics the best i could.
If you like this song you might like Avientame (the video is crazy... and translated on youtube) it was the theme song for a pretty big indie film (amores perros) from mexico that (i believe) was all about people being the cruelest to the people that love them the most... and that is defenitly conveyed in the video. [i don't mean to double dip.. but there you go] (warning... it has pretty graphic kissing scenes.)
Back to Maria, hope it's not boring... hope you dig it.
Lyrics:
Maria
Maria goes out at night (sale sola de noche maria)
suffering(haunting) through the city (pena por la ciudad)
walking the streets where she once (recorriendo las calles que un dia)
denied kisses in the dark (nego besos en la oscuridad.)
Her eyesight gets blurry; (Y se nubla la vista Maria)
because it hurts to remember (porque duele recordar)
that the kisses once denied, maria, (que los besos negados Maria)
will never more return (nunca mas regresaran)
at night through that route/street/road (En las noches por ese camino)
something strange is apt to happen (algo extrano suele pasar)
in feeling on the lips a chill, (al sentir en los labios el frio)
from other lips that cannot be seen (de otros labios que no regresaran)
it's maria who's haunting the streets (es Maria quien pena las calles)
and under a street light (y debajo de un farol)
she steals kisses and life from the people (roba besos y vida a la gente)
while she lies in a coffin (mientras yace en un cajon)
pretty maria (Maria bonita)
maria withers (Maria marchita)
okay, so i'm sorry that this song is in spanish. But i think it's worth it. It's by a band called Cafe Tacuba. The band is very very very eclectic and plays many different styles even though they are usually just described as spanish rock. The band plays everything from ska (rarotonga), alternative rock(eres), and; as seen in this song, more traditional mexican styles. (they even dress the part in this video)
Best of all... one of the member of the band regularly plays the melodica... what's not to like?
I love the simplicity of this song... it could be played using only the guitar (and melodion of course) and it will be just as beautiful.
This song is a ballad about a woman who was beautiful but stuck up... now... i believe that in the song... she's dead, i've had discussions with others who believe that she's not really dead, but it's just "as if" she were dead. I translated the lyrics the best i could.
If you like this song you might like Avientame (the video is crazy... and translated on youtube) it was the theme song for a pretty big indie film (amores perros) from mexico that (i believe) was all about people being the cruelest to the people that love them the most... and that is defenitly conveyed in the video. [i don't mean to double dip.. but there you go] (warning... it has pretty graphic kissing scenes.)
Back to Maria, hope it's not boring... hope you dig it.
Lyrics:
Maria
Maria goes out at night (sale sola de noche maria)
suffering(haunting) through the city (pena por la ciudad)
walking the streets where she once (recorriendo las calles que un dia)
denied kisses in the dark (nego besos en la oscuridad.)
Her eyesight gets blurry; (Y se nubla la vista Maria)
because it hurts to remember (porque duele recordar)
that the kisses once denied, maria, (que los besos negados Maria)
will never more return (nunca mas regresaran)
at night through that route/street/road (En las noches por ese camino)
something strange is apt to happen (algo extrano suele pasar)
in feeling on the lips a chill, (al sentir en los labios el frio)
from other lips that cannot be seen (de otros labios que no regresaran)
it's maria who's haunting the streets (es Maria quien pena las calles)
and under a street light (y debajo de un farol)
she steals kisses and life from the people (roba besos y vida a la gente)
while she lies in a coffin (mientras yace en un cajon)
pretty maria (Maria bonita)
maria withers (Maria marchita)
Posts
you never have to apologize to me for a song in spanish---i love it! Love the lyrics/story. very captivating & enchanting. I think the story makes the song. Oooohh...this gives me some ideas for a song share of my own. ;)
ReplyDeleteBTW: I would probably translate the line "de los otros labios que no regresaran" a little differently, as in "of the other lips that don't return", but that's a bit nit-picky--(sorry!)
I thought it was great! I enjoyed listening to the song in Spanish, even though I don't understand it. It was interesting to watch/read the story happen through the clip/lyrics. Good choice!
ReplyDeleteim really glad you guys like it... i was a little nervous about submitting it. :)
ReplyDeleteOh! my friend just told me his theory on this song.. he believes that it's about La Llorona. If youve never heard this story as a bedtime story then you're probably not hispanic thus led a mentally stable upbringing. He says that even though the song doesn't mention anything about her kids, it's another take on the story and it still keeps certain aspects like la llorona's vanity, her wearing white (in the video), her wandering down a certain path, and la llorona's name was Maria. I kind of hope he's wrong as i will no longer be able to listen to this song without my childhood trauma's and fear of nighttime coming back. Here's a rundown on one version of the story of La Llorona... http://www.literacynet.org/lp/hperspectives/llorona.html
ReplyDeleteOh! Oh! One more thing... that church seen throughout the video is located in a town square called Plaza Mayor where (in the Mexico City version of the story) she would always end her nightly route and give off her most horrific and last cry for her children before going away for the night... i'm starting to think he's right.
ReplyDeleteI am not Hispanic and outside of just being an Arizonan have no claim on any Hispanic heritage . . . but I know about the La Llorona.
ReplyDeleteI found this site to be particularly informative. http://www.lallorona.com/La_index.html
As for the song. I don't know why but I love foreign language music. French, Japanese, Spanish, I love it all. Looking at the translation of the lyrics I would say it looks definitely like it's about La Llorona. Very cool song, Alex. Thanks!
I like the song. but I need the chest slapping to stop.
ReplyDeleteI yeah... but the song is cool I did not know the story of La Llorona, but after seeing the evidence presented here I have to agree the song is totally about that crazy lady.
I wonder why there are so many songs about crazy ladies..? *runs away*