She sang in public for the first time in a radio contest at the age of ten. She didn't win that year, but won the next year. Her early singing caught the attention of a movie producer who introduced her to the cinema audiences as "Ana Belen" in the movie "Zampo y Yo" when she was thirteen.
Ana didn't want to become a child-star and focused on her studying. It wasn't until she finished drama school that she went back performing in public, being theater her prefered way to do so. She did small incursions in movies till she was offered major parts.
In 1973 she was cast opposite Víctor Manuel in Morbo and he became her husband as well as the composer of the songs included in her first album. In 1982 she released "Ana en Rio", an album with Brazilian music that included the song "Balance" and became an instant hit.
In 1986, took one more step and became one of the first female movie directors in Spain with the movie "Cómo ser mujer y no morir en el intento" which earned her the Gold Medal of Spanish Cinematographic Academy. That year concluded with another major success, a tour with Victor Manuel and many special guests of which they released a live album: "Mucho mas que dos". The success of this tour lead to a new one, "El Gusto es Nuestro" with Miguel Rios, Joan Manuel Serrat y Victor Manuel.
She releases several albums through the 90's that achieve great success like "Veneno para el Corazon" that included Spanish versions of Cole Porter songs among others, "Mirame" full of duets with the most important Spanish voices or "Lorquiana", a double CD with popular songs and poems of Federico García Lorca.
The new century finds her busy with filming and recording songs. Albums "Peces de Ciudad" or "Viva L'Italia" are released as she appears on stage plays and her name is on some of the most acclaimed films of the moment.
In 2006, she is currently touring with her husband Víctor Manuel across Spain with "Una Cancion me Trajo Aqui", a CD+DVD has been released of their very first performance in Segovia.She also has a new album in the works and a new movie pending.
Casi A Ras Del Suelo
Ana Belén Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nunca hay respuesta si pregunto al cielo
Me miro adentro y soy un cauce seco
Desde este café bajo a los infiernos.
Llamándote
Igual que siempre, llamándote.
Bajo la lluvia agonizaba un perro
Lo llena todo el peso del recuerdo
Volando bajo casi al ras del suelo.
Pájaros negros se meten por el sueño
Un cigarrillo arde entre mis dedos
La noche luego se cala su sombrero
Sale a la calle y es un gato en celo.
The lyrics of Ana Belén's song "Casi A Ras Del Suelo" paint a vivid picture of a dismal and hopeless state of mind. The first verse sets the tone for the entire song, with the singer reflecting on the foggy city and the lack of answers to her questions in the sky. She then turns inward and realizes that she is like a dry riverbed, unable to feel or connect. From this low point, she descends into the depths of her own despair, calling out to someone, presumably a lover, with desperation.
The second verse continues the bleak imagery, describing an agonizing dog in the rain and a restless world. The weight of memories feels suffocating, as if flying dangerously low to the ground. In this state of exhaustion, the singer is invaded by dark thoughts, symbolized by black birds, and smokes a cigarette as a fleeting comfort. The night wears a hat like a cat in heat, a reference to its capricious and unpredictable nature.
Overall, "Casi A Ras Del Suelo" is a song that captures a moment of profound sadness and loneliness. The imagery is sharp and visceral, immersing the listener in a world without hope. However, the emotional intensity of the song also speaks to the human capacity for endurance and the eventual possibility of hope.
Line by Line Meaning
Baja la niebla y envuelve la ciudad
The mist descends and engulfs the city
Nunca hay respuesta si pregunto al cielo
There's never an answer when I ask the sky
Me miro adentro y soy un cauce seco
I look inside myself and see a dry riverbed
Desde este café bajo a los infiernos
From this café, I descend into hell
Llamándote
Calling out to you
Igual que siempre, llamándote.
Just like always, calling out to you
Bajo la lluvia agonizaba un perro
A dog was dying in the rain
Se escucha al mundo removerse inquieto
The restless world can be heard stirring
Lo llena todo el peso del recuerdo
The weight of memory fills everything
Volando bajo casi al ras del suelo.
Flying low, almost skimming the ground
Pájaros negros se meten por el sueño
Black birds enter into the dream
Un cigarrillo arde entre mis dedos
A cigarette burns between my fingers
La noche luego se cala su sombrero
The night then puts on its hat
Sale a la calle y es un gato en celo.
Goes out to the street and becomes a cat in heat.
Contributed by Declan W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
jean
on Nana de Sevilla
madre