1. A Spanish pop band fo… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least two bands by the name Mecano
1. A Spanish pop band founded in 1981
2. A Dutch Post-Punk/ New Wave band founded in 1978
(1)The Spanish Mecano began as a Spanish language synth-pop (in Spanish música tecno) band from Madrid, Spain. Brothers Nacho Cano and José María Cano, along with singer Ana Torroja, formed the band in 1981. Mecano’s debut coincided with La Movida Madrileña, a sociocultural movement that occurred in Spain during the 1980’s.
Soon after forming, they achieved wide-spread popularity with their debut single, “Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar”. Nacho Cano branched out into producing other bands, and both he and his brother wrote songs for other pop up-starts. Mecano had another hit in 1986 with “Me Cuesta Tanto Olvidarte”. In 1991, the band members decided to set out on solo careers.
Prior to their international success in 1986, Mecano had three successful albums in Spain and Europe. However, it was not until the release of their 1986 album, Entre el Cielo y el Suelo that they achieved international success beyond the Spanish-speaking world. One of their most important songs, “Hijo de la Luna”, was covered as an aria by one of Opera’s greatest contemporary singers, Montserrat Caballé. Their follow-up album, Descanso Dominical, produced their biggest single ever, “Mujer Contra Mujer”, which deals with a lesbian relationship, seen through the eyes of a male friend, who only later realizes what is going on. The song was recorded in French, English, and Italian, giving Mecano their first truly global hit.
2. Mecano is a Dutch Punk/New Wave band founded in 1977 by Dirk Polak. Post-Punk from 1978 to mid 80's, a break, but now alive again. Official site: http://www.mecano.ws/
Hijo de la luna
Mecano Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cuenta una leyenda
Que una hembra gitana
Conjuró a la luna hasta el amanecer
Llorando pedía
Al llegar el día
Desposar un calé
"Tendrás a tu hombre, piel morena"
Desde el cielo habló la luna llena
"Pero a cambio quiero
El hijo primero
Que le engendres a él
Que quien su hijo inmola
Para no estar sola
Poco le iba a querer"
Luna quieres ser madre
Y no encuentras querer
Que te haga mujer
Dime, luna de plata
¿Qué pretendes hacer con un niño de piel?
Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah
Hijo de la luna
De padre canela nació un niño
Blanco como el lomo de un armiño
Con los ojos grises en vez de aceituna
Niño albino de luna
"Maldita su estampa, este hijo es de un payo
Y yo no me lo cayo"
Luna quieres ser madre
Y no encuentras querer que te haga mujer
Dime, luna de plata
¿Qué pretendes hacer con un niño de piel?
Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah
Hijo de la luna
Gitano al creerse deshonrado
Se fue a su mujer, cuchillo en mano
"¿De quién es el hijo? Me has engañao' fijo"
Y de muerte la hirió
Luego se hizo al monte con el niño en brazos
Y allí le abandonó
Luna quieres ser madre
Y no encuentras querer que te haga mujer
Dime, luna de plata
¿Qué pretendes hacer con un niño de piel?
Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah
Hijo de la luna
Y las noches que haya luna llena
Será porque el niño esté de buenas
Y si el niño llora
Menguará la luna para hacerle una cuna
Y si el niño llora
Menguará la luna para hacerle una cuna
The song Hijo de la luna by Mecano is based on a legend about a gypsy woman who desperately wants to marry a man from her tribe. She seeks the help of the moon, who agrees to make the man fall in love with her under one condition: the moon wants the first-born child that the woman bears. The woman agrees, but when the child is born white as snow, indicating that the father is not from their tribe, the gypsy man becomes enraged and kills his wife. He then leaves the child in the wild to die. The moon, now a mother herself, takes pity on the child and protects him, cradling him in her ever-diminishing light.
The lyrics are haunting and full of emotion, invoking a sense of tragedy and despair. The story touches on themes such as love, sacrifice, and betrayal. The gypsy woman's desperation for love leads her to make a deal with the moon, which ultimately results in the death of her and her child. The gypsy man's rage and violence towards his wife and child shows the destructive nature of possessiveness and jealousy. The moon becomes a symbol of protection and motherhood, taking pity on the child and ensuring his survival.
Overall, Hijo de la luna is a beautiful and heartbreaking story that is masterfully told through the lyrics and music of Mecano.
Line by Line Meaning
Tonto el que no entienda
Foolish is he who doesn't comprehend
Cuenta una leyenda
It tells a legend
Que una hembra gitana
That a female gypsy
Conjuró a la luna hasta el amanecer
Conjured the moon until dawn
Llorando pedía
Crying, she asked
Al llegar el día
At daybreak
Desposar un calé
To marry a gypsy man
"Tendrás a tu hombre, piel morena"
"You will have your man, of dark skin."
Desde el cielo habló la luna llena
Spoke the full moon from the sky
"Pero a cambio quiero
"But in exchange, I want
El hijo primero
The first child
Que le engendres a él
You bear him
Que quien su hijo inmola
That whoever sacrifices their child
Para no estar sola
To not be alone
Poco le iba a querer"
I would love them little."
Luna quieres ser madre
Moon, you want to be a mother
Y no encuentras querer
And can't find love
Que te haga mujer
To make you a woman
Dime, luna de plata
Tell me, silver moon
¿Qué pretendes hacer con un niño de piel?
What do you intend to do with a child of flesh?
Hijo de la luna
Son of the moon
De padre canela nació un niño
A child was born to a cinnamon-skinned father
Blanco como el lomo de un armiño
White as the back of a stoat
Con los ojos grises en vez de aceituna
With gray eyes instead of olive
Niño albino de luna
Albino child of the moon
"Maldita su estampa, este hijo es de un payo
"Cursed is his appearance, this child is of a non-gypsy
Y yo no me lo cayo"
And I won't keep it quiet."
Gitano al creerse deshonrado
Gypsy, feeling dishonored
Se fue a su mujer, cuchillo en mano
Went to his wife with a knife in hand
"¿De quién es el hijo? Me has engañao' fijo"
"Whose child is this? You've surely cheated on me."
Y de muerte la hirió
And fatally wounded her
Luego se hizo al monte con el niño en brazos
Then he took to the hills with the child in his arms
Y allí le abandonó
And there he abandoned him
Y las noches que haya luna llena
And on the nights of the full moon
Será porque el niño esté de buenas
It will be because the child is happy
Y si el niño llora
And if the child cries
Menguará la luna para hacerle una cuna
The moon will shrink to make him a cradle
Y si el niño llora
And if the child cries
Menguará la luna para hacerle una cuna
The moon will shrink to make him a cradle
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Jose Maria Cano Andres
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind