Their style was based on an acoustic and simple pop-rock with a touch of rockabilly in great contrast with the more radical rock played in the area at the time. After being hired by 'Grabaciones Accidentales, S.A.' they contributed with two songs (Mi Amor and Bésame Mucho) to the new bands compilation La única alternativa (The Only Alternative).
In 1985 they recorded their first album, Por Tierras Escocesas (Around Scottish Lands), and Canciones (Songs) a year later, both produced by Paco Trinidad. The songs were immediately successful and gave them big popularity. After even more successful El Grito del Tiempo (The Cry of Time, 1984) and Grabaciones Olvidadas (Forgotten Recordings, a compilation of B-Sides, 1989) they became a duo and recorded the double album Autobiografía (Autobiography), with collaborations by Black and Sam Brown among others. They later also had several hits such as "Esos Ojos Negros" ("Those Black Eyes"). They finally came to a close as a band with their final cd, "Crepúsculo y Crudités" (Sunset and Crudités [1]) which was more orchestrated and softer than their older music.
Their most known hit is "En Algún Lugar" ("In Some Place"). The song was initially featured in Canciones, but it was the remix included in El Grito del Tiempo that became widely popular.
Cenizas
Duncan Dhu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lloviendo otra vez
Lloviendo otra vez.
La luz nos sorprendió
Cayendo otra vez
Cayendo otra vez.
Silencio en la piel
Nadando hacia atrás
Como peces al sol.
Cenizas blancas al amanecer
Como tú y yo
Como tú y yo.
Poemas muertos antes de volver
Entre tú y yo
Entre tú y yo.
Quizás algo murió
En el último bar
En el último bar.
Un coche abandonó
La noche a traición
La noche a traición.
Solo tú y yo
Saliendo de allí.
Solo tú y yo
Como gatos al sol.
Promesas rotas antes de nacer
Brillan al caer
Brillan al caer.
Refugio oscuro de un verano azul
Al amanecer
Al amanecer.
The song "Cenizas" by Duncan Dhu depicts a melancholic scene of a deserted bar in which the two protagonists, presumably a couple, find themselves as dawn breaks. As they emerge, they are greeted by rain - a recurring motif in the song - and the desert, which is personified as a voice that contrasts with the silence that they both wear like a second skin. The verses create a sense of circularity and repetition, seemingly conveying the idea that the whole scene is but an echo of a bigger, perhaps recurring, story. The fish-like movement and references to broken promises and dead poems add to the atmosphere of solitude and regret, as if the two characters have stumbled upon a place that holds the remnants of their own past.
The chorus emphasizes the idea of "Cenizas," which translates to "ashes," suggesting that the characters' relationship has disintegrated like a burnt-out fire. The ashes are compared to the characters themselves, emphasizing the sense of loss and decay. The final verse, however, introduces a glimmer of hope, describing a "dark refuge of a blue summer" that awaits at dawn. This could indicate a new beginning or a chance to repair what has been broken, suggesting that the ashes and the rain may serve as a purifying process before the sun rises again.
Line by Line Meaning
Ha vuelto a amanecer
A new day has begun
Lloviendo otra vez
And it's raining again
Lloviendo otra vez.
Still raining.
La luz nos sorprendió
The light caught us off guard
Cayendo otra vez
Falling again
Cayendo otra vez.
Still falling.
El desierto en la voz
The desert in our voice
Silencio en la piel
Silence on our skin
Nadando hacia atrás
Swimming backwards
Como peces al sol.
Like fish under the sun
Cenizas blancas al amanecer
White ashes at dawn
Como tú y yo
Like you and me
Como tú y yo.
Just like you and me.
Poemas muertos antes de volver
Dead poems before they return
Entre tú y yo
Between you and me
Entre tú y yo.
Just between you and me.
Quizás algo murió
Maybe something died
En el último bar
In the last bar
Un coche abandonó
A car left behind
La noche a traición
The night betrayed us
Solo tú y yo
Just you and me
Saliendo de allí.
Leaving from there.
Solo tú y yo
Just you and me
Como gatos al sol.
Like cats under the sun
Promesas rotas antes de nacer
Promises broken before they even started
Brillan al caer
Shine as they fall
Refugio oscuro de un verano azul
Dark refuge of a blue summer
Al amanecer.
At dawn.
Contributed by Grace T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.