In March 1987 they released Soy una arveja, an album which unlike their previous record featured dark, humorous and satirical lyrics based around characters from the city of Tajo, a fictional city (an inside-joke between the members). This would also be their first album to feature the drummer Álvaro Pintos.
They would later release Emilio Garcia in 1988 and Canciones del Corazon in 1991. However, in 1994 with the release of Otra navidad en las trincheras the band unexpectedly gained massive popularity in Uruguay and stopped being a cult band. This caused Otra navidad en las trincheras to become the #1 best selling album in the country for a long time.
After the success of their previous album they released Barranca Abajo, a concept album revolving around the life of a fictional character named José Barrancas created by the band. The next year El tren bala was released and generated controversy throughout the country due to the Ministry of Education and Culture's attempts to ban the album over the song "El dia que Artigas se emborracho" which made fun of uruguayan national hero José Gervasio Artigas. However, this only expanded the group's popularity. Afterwards Revista ¡¡Ésta!! was released in 1998.
Riki Musso temporarily left the band in 2000 before the release of Cortamambo due to differences with their label and bandmates about the album cover. However, his brother convinced him to stay. Their 2004 self-titled album was the first to feature Juan Campodonico who would later produce all of their post-Cortamambo discography including Raro, a power pop album which made the band well known in other countries, allowing them to tour through South America. Riki would leave the band a second time due to musical differences with Bipolar being his last contribution to El Cuarteto de Nos.
Gustavo Antuña replaced guitarist Riki Musso in 2010 and joined the band alongside keyboardist Santiago Marrero. The first album to feature them both was the more pop rock influenced Porfiado which won two latin grammy awards.
Andamio Pijuán
El Cuarteto De Nos Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
para no ver su imagen en los espejos al pasar
es así que no ve el sol desde que su mal empezó,
cubierto del sucio alquitrán es solo una sombra con voz
Pobre Andamio Pijuán, no puede mirarse al espejo,
se baña con alquitrán, para no mirarse,
para no mirarse, para no mirarse más
Su trastorno comenzó después de cumplir los dos,
cuando jugaba en una fuente tuvo de repente su primer acto de razón,
llegó frente al agua para ver como era la cara de él,
pero un inconsciente una piedra tiró a la fuente al verse la primera vez
Pobre Andamio Pijuán, no puede mirarse al espejo,
se baña con alquitrán, para no mirarse,
para no mirarse, para no mirarse más
La piedra dió en el agua mientras Andamio se miraba,
y las ondas produjeron un deformamiento de su cara reflejada
Por su corta edad pensó que así era en realidad
y decidió en ese instante ser un hombre elefante cubierto de alquitrán
Pobre Andamio Pijuán, no puede mirarse al espejo,
se baña con alquitrán, para no mirarse,
para no mirarse, para no mirarse más.
Un día por error quedó dormido a pleno sol,
y en pocos instantes el calor reinante al alquitrán lo derritió
la policía encontró solo un gran manchón,
Pijuán había muerto, se había consumido cuando el alquitrán fundió
Pobre Andamio Pijuán, no puede mirarse al espejo,
se baña con alquitrán, para no mirarse,
para no mirarse, para no mirarse más, más, más,
más (Andamio Pijuán)
más (Andamio Pijuán)
más (Andamio Pijuán)
The song 'Andamio Pijuán' by El Cuarteto De Nos tells the tragic story of a man named Andamio Pijuán, who has a unique disorder. He always bathes in tar so that he doesn't have to see his reflection in the mirror. The song describes how Andamio has not seen the sun since his disorder began, and how he is now just a shadow with a voice. The lyrics of the song paint a sad picture of a man who cannot come to terms with his own appearance.
The story of Andamio begins when he was just two years old. While playing in a fountain, he had his first realization that he looked a certain way. However, when he saw his reflection, another child threw a stone in the water, disrupting the image. This caused Andamio to have a distorted perception of himself, leading him to cover himself in tar and become a "man-elephant." The lyrics suggest that Andamio's disorder eventually led to his death from exposure to the sun, as the tar melted and consumed him.
Overall, the song is a poignant exploration of the human psyche and how one's perception of oneself can lead to tragic outcomes. The lyrics are both powerful and haunting, and the music is a perfect complement to the story being told.
Line by Line Meaning
Andamio Pijuán se baña siempre en alquitrán
Andamio Pijuán regularly covers himself in tar
para no ver su imagen en los espejos al pasar
so as to avoid seeing his reflection in the mirrors as he passes
es así que no ve el sol desde que su mal empezó,
this is why he hasn't seen the sun since his condition began
cubierto del sucio alquitrán es solo una sombra con voz
covered in dirty tar, he is little more than a talking shadow
Su trastorno comenzó después de cumplir los dos,
His condition began after he turned two,
cuando jugaba en una fuente tuvo de repente su primer acto de razón,
when playing by a fountain he suddenly had his first moment of reason,
llegó frente al agua para ver como era la cara de él,
he approached the water to see what his own face looked like,
pero un inconsciente una piedra tiró a la fuente al verse la primera vez
but someone thoughtlessly threw a stone into the fountain as he looked for the first time
La piedra dió en el agua mientras Andamio se miraba,
The stone hit the water as Andamio was looking at himself,
y las ondas produjeron un deformamiento de su cara reflejada
the ripples caused a distortion in his reflected face
Por su corta edad pensó que así era en realidad
being so young he believed it to be reality
y decidió en ese instante ser un hombre elefante cubierto de alquitrán
and so made the decision to be a tar-covered elephant man in that moment
Un día por error quedó dormido a pleno sol,
one day he accidentally fell asleep in the full sun,
y en pocos instantes el calor reinante al alquitrán lo derritió
and in a matter of moments, the heat melted the tar coating him
la policía encontró solo un gran manchón,
the police found only a large stain
Pijuán había muerto, se había consumido cuando el alquitrán fundió
Pijuán had died, consumed by the melting tar.
más (Andamio Pijuán)
more (Andamio Pijuán)
más (Andamio Pijuán)
more (Andamio Pijuán)
más (Andamio Pijuán)
more (Andamio Pijuán)
Contributed by Luke I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.