After seven Mecano albums and fame in Europe and Latin America, months of continuous touring were taking their toll on the band, especially on Ana who was starting to develop vocal problems. In 1993 the band announced a "temporary split". While José and Nacho composed solo albums, Ana chose to travel round the world to visit places like Hawaii, Bombay and New York, cities she had sung about while fronting Mecano. It was in New York that she set up home and took dance classes.
By 1997 Ana felt confident enough to sing again and moved to London to record her first solo album Puntos cardinales. The album marked a curious change for Ana, as her new songs were not written from a male point of view by the Cano brothers, she felt she could express herself in Spanish as a woman for the first time. The first single from the album A contratiempo was a Spanish cover of an old Bette Midler song, "Bottomless". The video showed a "new" Ana Torroja with plumper lips and other attributes hitherto unseen on the former Mecano star.
In 1998—partially due to the expense and commercial failure of José María's opera project—Mecano reformed for the double-disc greatest hits compilation Ana, José, Nacho, which also featured seven new songs.
In 2006, Ana released "Me Cuesta Tanto Olvidarte", an album which featured 13 of Mecano's greatest hits reborn. "Hijo de La Luna" was remade as a Huapango Jarocho, featuring a whole Mariachi ensemble. "Maquillaje" was given a burlesque, cabaret sound, while "Barco a Venus" was made a Rumba. Other hits included were "Los Amantes" (w/ a Samba makeover), "Mujer Contra Mujer" (in a solo orchestral rendition), "Busco Algo Barato", "Cruz De navajas," and "La Fuerza Del Destino." Amazingly, the title track is nowhere to be seen.
Aire
Ana Torroja Lyrics
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Al tratar de despertar
Noté que por el ombligo
Me empezaba a desinflar
Que mi cuerpo se arrugaba
Como un papel vegetal
E iba pasando que curioso
Y tras la metamorfosis
Me sentí mucho mejor
Era un aire gris oscuro
Y con bastante polución
Se notaba en cualquier caso
Que era aire de ciudad
Que si bien no es el más sano
Lo prefiero al ser humano
Aire, soñé por un momento que era aire
Oxígeno, nitrógeno y argón
Sin forma definida, ah, ah, ni color
Fui aire, he, he, volador
Como yo soy muy consciente
Hasta en esta situación
Decidí ser consecuente
Con mi nueva dimensión
Y probé a ser respirado
Por la que duerme a mi lado
Sin entrar en pormenores
Yo sé hacer cosas mejores
Como no me satisfizo
La experiencia sexual
Se me inflaron las vaporas
Me convertí en huracán
Di unas tres o cuatro vueltas
Y a la quinta me cansé
Este cuarto es muy pequeño
Para las cosas que sueño
Aire, soñé por un momento que era aire
Oxígeno, nitrógeno y argón
Sin forma definida, ah, ah, ni color
Fui aire, he, he, volador
Y lo siento por mi novia
Y el cristal que me cargué
Me escapé por la ventana
Y en picado me lancé
Pero tuve mala suerte
Y cuando iba a remontar
Me volví otra vez humano
No faltéis al funeral
Aire, soñé por un momento que era aire
Oxígeno, nitrógeno y argón
Sin forma definida, ah, ah, ni color
Fui aire, he, he, volador
The song "Aire" by Ana Torroja tells a surreal story of a person who one night, after a heavy night of drinking, wakes up to find themselves turning into air. The song portrays the perspective of the person transforming, starting with the sensation of deflating from their belly button and their body wrinkling like paper as they turn gaseous. As they metamorphose, they find themselves feeling better and cleaner, despite being a gray and polluted city air, which they prefer to being human. As air, they experience the freedom of being formless and colorless, and enjoy flying and being carried by winds, yet still, they use this opportunity to be responsible for their new state, trying to be "breathed" by the person sleeping beside them.
The lyrics continue to describe how the person tries to experiment with their new state, becoming a hurricane by inflating themselves, and causing destruction in their room, breaking a window and its glass. Their attempt to fly out of the window fails, and they revert to being human again, apologizing for the mess they created. The song is a metaphorical exploration of the human condition, touching themes of curiosity, freedom, responsibility, and the relationship between humans and their environment.
Line by Line Meaning
Una noche de resaca
After a night of drinking heavily
Al tratar de despertar
When trying to wake up
Noté que por el ombligo
I noticed that from my belly button
Me empezaba a desinflar
I began to deflate
Que mi cuerpo se arrugaba
My body was wrinkling
Como un papel vegetal
Like a tracing paper
E iba pasando que curioso
Curiously, it was happening
Al estado gaseoso
To a gaseous state
Y tras la metamorfosis
And after the metamorphosis
Me sentí mucho mejor
I felt much better
Era un aire gris oscuro
It was a dark gray air
Y con bastante polución
And with a lot of pollution
Se notaba en cualquier caso
It was noticeable in any case
Que era aire de ciudad
That it was city air
Que si bien no es el más sano
Although it's not the healthiest
Lo prefiero al ser humano
I prefer it to humans
Aire, soñé por un momento que era aire
Air, I dreamed for a moment that I was air
Oxígeno, nitrógeno y argón
Oxygen, nitrogen, and argon
Sin forma definida, ah, ah, ni color
Without a defined form, ah, ah, or color
Fui aire, he, he, volador
I was air, he, he, a flyer
Como yo soy muy consciente
Since I'm very aware
Hasta en esta situación
Even in this situation
Decidí ser consecuente
I decided to be consistent
Con mi nueva dimensión
With my new dimension
Y probé a ser respirado
And I tried to be breathed
Por la que duerme a mi lado
By the one sleeping next to me
Sin entrar en pormenores
Without going into details
Yo sé hacer cosas mejores
I know how to do better things
Como no me satisfizo
Since it didn't satisfy me
La experiencia sexual
The sexual experience
Se me inflaron las vaporas
My vapors inflated
Me convertí en huracán
I became a hurricane
Di unas tres o cuatro vueltas
I did three or four turns
Y a la quinta me cansé
And on the fifth one, I got tired
Este cuarto es muy pequeño
This room is very small
Para las cosas que sueño
For the things I dream about
Y lo siento por mi novia
And I'm sorry for my girlfriend
Y el cristal que me cargué
And the glass that I broke
Me escapé por la ventana
I escaped through the window
Y en picado me lancé
And I dived down
Pero tuve mala suerte
But I had bad luck
Y cuando iba a remontar
And when I was about to ascend
Me volví otra vez humano
I became human again
No faltéis al funeral
Don't miss the funeral
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOSE MARIA CANO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind