After their break-up in 1999, Sergio Algora, their singer and most prolific songwriter, went on to write fiction and eventually played at Muy poca gente and the indie "super-group" La Costa Brava with the frontman of Australian Blonde, another notorious Spanish band. Sergio and Andrés formed Tachenko.
Sergio died on July 9th 2008 due to a heart disease.
Mira el Péndulo
El Niño Gusano Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Para que seáis iguales a mí.
Los lobos nunca conseguirán
Que sus aullidos puedan alunizar.
Y si somos tan pequeños podremos pilotar
Las miniaturas que nos dan para viajar.
Y si somos tan pequeños podremos destrozar
Y si somos tan pequeños podremos pilotar
Las miniaturas que nos dan para viajar.
Remeros, nunca olvidéis,
Un hombre bajo el río siempre huele mal.
Chica, no cuentes a nadie
Lo que haces en tu cuarto después de merendar.
Se quedó encogido el mundo,
Ya no sirve ni para pasear.
Y si somos tan pequeños podremos pilotar
Las miniaturas que nos dan para viajar.
Y si somos tan pequeños podremos destrozar
Las miniaturas que nos dan para jugar.
Y si somos tan pequeños podremos pilotar
Las miniaturas que nos dan para viajar.
The lyrics to El Niño Gusano's song "Mira el péndulo" are a surreal commentary on power, control, and the human condition. The opening lines "En ceros os convertiré / Para que seáis iguales a mí" ("I will turn you into zeroes / So that you are equal to me") suggest a desire to exert dominance and reduce others to nothingness. This is followed by the line "Los lobos nunca conseguirán / Que sus aullidos puedan alunizar" ("Wolves will never be able to howl on the moon"), which seems to suggest that even animals are not allowed to transcend their limitations and have power.
The song also touches on the idea of being small and having control. The lines "Y si somos tan pequeños podremos pilotar / Las miniaturas que nos dan para viajar" ("And if we are so small, we can pilot / The miniatures they give us to travel") and "Y si somos tan pequeños podremos destrozar / Las miniaturas que nos dan para jugar" ("And if we are so small, we can destroy / The miniatures they give us to play with") seem to suggest that smallness grants a kind of freedom and power to cause destruction. However, this is juxtaposed with the line "Se quedó encogido el mundo, / Ya no sirve ni para pasear" ("The world has shrunk, / It is no longer good for walking"), which suggests that even with power, there is a sense of emptiness and loss.
Overall, "Mira el péndulo" is a complex and thought-provoking song that raises questions about power, control, and the nature of existence.
Line by Line Meaning
En ceros os convertiré
I will reduce you to nothingness
Para que seáis iguales a mí.
So that you are equal to me
Los lobos nunca conseguirán
Wolves will never achieve
Que sus aullidos puedan alunizar.
Their howls can reach the moon
Y si somos tan pequeños podremos pilotar
And if we are so small, we can pilot
Las miniaturas que nos dan para viajar.
The miniatures given to us to travel
Y si somos tan pequeños podremos destrozar
And if we are so small, we can destroy
Las miniaturas que nos dan para jugar.
The miniatures given to us to play
Remeros, nunca olvidéis,
Rowers, never forget
Un hombre bajo el río siempre huele mal.
A man under the river always smells bad.
Chica, no cuentes a nadie
Girl, don't tell anyone
Lo que haces en tu cuarto después de merendar.
What you do in your room after having a snack.
Se quedó encogido el mundo,
The world became shrunken
Ya no sirve ni para pasear.
It's no longer useful even for a walk.
Y si somos tan pequeños podremos pilotar
And if we are so small, we can pilot
Las miniaturas que nos dan para viajar.
The miniatures given to us to travel.
Y si somos tan pequeños podremos destrozar
And if we are so small, we can destroy
Las miniaturas que nos dan para jugar.
The miniatures given to us to play.
Y si somos tan pequeños podremos pilotar
And if we are so small, we can pilot
Las miniaturas que nos dan para viajar.
The miniatures given to us to travel.
Writer(s): Andres Perez Ferruca
Contributed by Isaac J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.