On last.fm there are two entries for the same artist: Alí Primera & Ali Primera (without accent mark).
It would be useful to merge them.
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Alí Primera was baptized as Alí Rafael Primera Rosell by his parents Antonio Primera and Carmen Adela Rossell. Poor from the start, he lost his father when he was three. His father, who worked served as an official in Coro, died accidentally during a shooting incident that occurred when some prisoners tried to escape from the jail in town in 1945. As Primera was still quite young when his father died, he travelled with his mother and 2 siblings through different towns on the Paraguaná Peninsula, including San José, Caja de Agua, where he graduated from elementary school; Las Piedras and finally, La Vela, near Punto Fijo. It was in this town that Primera worked a number of jobs, from a shoeshiner at the age of 6 to a boxer, due to the miserable conditions his family lived in. These jobs did not, however, discourage him from continuing his studies.
In 1960, Primera and his family left La Vela looking for a better life and moved to Caracas, where he enrolled in the “Liceo Caracas” in order to complete his education. After he graduated in 1964, he enrolled at the Central University of Venezuela to study Chemistry at the School of Science. While at the university, he started singing and composing music. At first, it was a just a hobby for him, but it gradually came to take up all of his time. His first songs, Humanidad and No basta rezar, the latter of which was presented at the Festival of Protest Songs organized by the Universidad de los Andes in 1967, propelled him to fame.
Between 1969 and 1973, Primera lived in Europe thanks to a scholarship he was received in 1968 from the Communist Party of Venezuela to continue his studies in Romania. Once in Europe, he earned a living by washing dishes and occasionally sang in places that respected his work. He recorded his first album Gente de mi tierra in a studio in Germany. Primera’s compositions talk about the suffering of the people, destroyed by poverty and social inequality. Because of his songs, he quickly made his way into the hearts of the people and soon became known as El Cantor del Pueblo or The People’s Singer.
Primera died in a car accident on February 16, 1985 on the Autopista Valle-Coche in Caracas. Before his death, Alí Primera had started a new album at the end of 1984 that combined the recurring themes of his songs with beats that he had never used before such as the gaita from Zulia in Venezuela.
Even though the Venezuelan government declared in 2005 his music to be national property, the reality is that the rights to his albums were turned over years ago to the now defunct Venezuelan record company Top Hits, which was acquired by the Mexican record company Balboa Records.
Napoleón
Alí Primera Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bajo lluvia y bajo el sol
Se llamaba Pedro Ovalles
Le decían Napoleón
Napoleón, Napoleón
Andaba en zapatos rotos
Y su botella de ron
El hombre se le marchó
A Napoleón, a Napoleón
Napoleón, a Napoleón
Y un día, por orden presidencial
Recogieron a todo
El que vivía en su casa
Pantalón, saco roto
Napoleón y le lavaron la cara
Mas Napoleón
Nunca cambió
Pueden lavarle la piel
Que el corazón le queda igual
Porque una estrella al caer
Nunca jamás se puede elevar
Así filosofaba Napoleón
Con la cabeza baja Napoleón
Siempre sonriendo Napoleón
El hombre se le marchó
Dolorosamente manso
Napoleón
Los que buscan su locura
En lo sucio de la oreja
Y en lo roto del zapato
No saben que diariamente
Nacen miles Napoleón
Los pare la sociedad
No digan que los pare el hombre
Los que buscan su locura
En las costras de su piel
Y en su cama de papel
Donde va guardando sueños
Quien lo hace así
Busca evadir el problema
La sociedad no se lava
Se destruye o se construye
Pero según quien lo haga
Así filosofaba Napoleón
Con la cabeza baja Napoleón
Siempre sonriendo Napoleón
El hombre se le marchó
Dolorosamente manso
Napoleón
Teniendo las piernas buenas
Caminaba de rodillas
Porque cuando se fue de bruces
Se apoyó en la botella
Era tan débil que a su
Último enemigo
Él también lo perdonó
Se llama Pedro Ovalles
Le decían Napoleón
The song "Napoleón" by Alí Primera is a touching homage to a man named Pedro Ovalles who was known as Napoleón. The song is a tender portrayal of a man who was regarded as a madman by society but was loved by those who knew him. The song is about a man who goes through life with a philosophical but accepting perspective despite his struggles. The song tells the story of Napoleón's daily life, his struggles with alcoholism, and his eventual institutionalization.
The song also speaks to the societal norms that deem people like Napoleón as "crazy" and unimportant. The song tells the listener that those who are marginalized by society are human beings with feelings and emotions just like everyone else, and their struggles should be acknowledged and understood. The message of the song is clear, even though society may not always recognize the value of a person's life, every life has worth and should be treated with dignity and respect.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo lo vi cruzando calles
I saw him walking down the streets
Bajo lluvia y bajo el sol
In rain and in sunshine
Se llamaba Pedro Ovalles
His name was Pedro Ovalles
Le decían Napoleón
They called him Napoleon
Andaba en zapatos rotos
He walked in worn-out shoes
Y su botella de ron
And carrying his bottle of rum
Dolorosamente manso
Painfully meek
El hombre se le marchó
The man left him
A Napoleón, a Napoleón
To Napoleon, to Napoleon
Y un día, por orden presidencial
And one day, by presidential order
Recogieron a todo
They picked up everyone
El que vivía en su casa
Whoever lived in his house
Pantalón, saco roto
Wearing torn pants and jacket
Napoleón y le lavaron la cara
Napoleon had his face washed
Mas Napoleón
But Napoleon
Nunca cambió
Never changed
Pueden lavarle la piel
They can wash his skin
Que el corazón le queda igual
But his heart remains the same
Porque una estrella al caer
Because when a star falls
Nunca jamás se puede elevar
It can never rise again
Así filosofaba Napoleón
So philosophized Napoleon
Con la cabeza baja Napoleón
With his head bent down
Siempre sonriendo Napoleón
Always smiling Napoleon
Los que buscan su locura
Those who search for his madness
En lo sucio de la oreja
In the dirt in his ear
Y en lo roto del zapato
And in the hole in his shoe
No saben que diariamente
They don't know that every day
Nacen miles Napoleón
Thousands of Napoleons are born
Los pare la sociedad
Society may stop them
No digan que los pare el hombre
But don't say that men stop them
En las costras de su piel
In the scabs on his skin
Y en su cama de papel
And in his paper bed
Quien lo hace así
Whoever does it like that
Busca evadir el problema
Is trying to avoid the problem
La sociedad no se lava
Society doesn't wash
Se destruye o se construye
It either destroys or builds
Pero según quien lo haga
But it depends on who does it
Teniendo las piernas buenas
With good legs
Caminaba de rodillas
He walked on his knees
Porque cuando se fue de bruces
Because when he fell face down
Se apoyó en la botella
He leaned on the bottle
Era tan débil que a su
He was so weak that
Último enemigo
Even to his last enemy
Él también lo perdonó
He forgave him too
Se llama Pedro Ovalles
His name was Pedro Ovalles
Le decían Napoleón
They called him Napoleon
Contributed by Benjamin T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.