Catalan singer-songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat got involved in music at the age of 17, when he got his first guitar, to which he dedicates one of his earliest songs, "Una guitarra."
In early 60's the young artist participated in a pop band playing along with classmates at Barcelona's Agronomy School, doing mainly Beatles stuff and Italian 'pop-of-the-era' songs translated to Spanish.
In 1965, while singing in a radio show called Radioscope, host Salvador Escanilla helped him to get a record deal with local label Edigsa where he recorded his first EP, as well as became part of Els Setze Jutges, a group of Catalan artists aiming to promote a renaissance of Catalan culture after Spanish Franco's dictatorship and make it spread into popular classes.
Joan Manuel Serrat's first live stage performance in 1967 at the Catalan Music Palace, established definitely his name as one of the most important artists inside the 'Nova cançó' ('New Song') movement in Catalonia.
Next year, Spain originally entered Serrat in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 to sing "La, la, la", but he asked to sing it in Catalan, to which the Spanish authorities would not agree. This would be the first time he came into conflict with the language politics of Francoist Spain, because of his decision to sing in his native Catalan language, repressed by Franco. After the incident, Serrat was hurriedly substituted by Massiel, who won the contest with her Spanish-language version. By that time Serrat's songs were banned and his records burned in the streets. He then traveled to South America and participated in the Rio de Janeiro's World Music Festival, where he took first place with the song "Penélope."
In 1969 Serrat released an album containing songs with texts of Antonio Machado, a well known Spanish poet of late 19th-early 20th century. This album gave him immediate fame in all Spain and Latin America though, in spite of this, his decission to sing in Spanish was still criticized in some nationalistic Catalan circles.
The release of 1971's Mediterráneo LP consolidated the artist worldwide. In 1976, Joan Manuel Serrat was acclaimed for the first time in the U.S.A. while performing in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York.
In late 1974, Serrat was exiled in Mexico due to his condemnation of arbitrary executions under Franco's regime. It wasn't until Franco's death (November 20, 1975) that Serrat was able to return to his homeland.
In January of 1995, the Spanish government gave him a medal for his contribution to the Hispanic culture. That same year, a tribute album called Serrat, Eres único was made to honor his career, featuring artists such as Diego Torres, Ketama, Rosario (Flores), Joaquín Sabina, and Antonio Flores. In the year 2000, the Spanish Association of Authors and Editors (SGAE) awarded him with one of ten Medals of the Century.
In October 2004 he revealed that he had been undergoing treatment for cancer of the bladder and in November that year he cancelled a tour of Latin America and the USA in order to undergo surgery in Barcelona, where he still lives. By that time, his wonderful song "Mediterráneo" was selected as the most important song of the 20th century in Spain.
His recovery was satisfactory, and in 2005 he went on a tour again ("Serrat 100×100") around Spain and Latin America with his lifelong producer and arranger, Ricard Miralles.
A second volume of Serrat, eres único was also released this year, featuring Alejandro Sanz, Estopa, and Pasión+Vega. Around the same time, Cuban artists such as Silvio Rodríguez, Pablo Milanés, Chucho Valdez, and Ibrahim Ferrer came together to make another tribute CD, Cuba le canta a Serrat.
Source: Wikipedia®
Ciudadano
Joan Manuel Serrat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
En el ruidoso tumulto callejero
Con los vientos en contra va el ciudadano,
Los bolsillos temblando y el alma en cueros.
Rotos y desarraigados,
Hablando a gritos,
Golpeando los adjetivos precipitadamente,
Asfixiados en los humos y en las gestiones,
A salvo en sus caparazones.
A quién le importarán
Tus deudas y tus deudores
O los achaques de tus mayores.
Así reviente el señor
De miedo y de soledad.
Con Dios, ciudadano,
Ya te apañarás.
Y se amontonan y se hacinan
Encima, enfrente, abajo, detrás y al lado.
En amargas colmenas los clasifican,
Donde tan ignorantes como ignorados
Crecen y se multiplican,
Para que siga especulando
Con su trabajo, su agua, su aire y su calle
La gente encantadora... Los comediantes
Qué poco saben de nada, nada de nadie,
Y son
Ciudadanos importantes.
Hijos predilectos,
Científicos admirados,
Tiernos poetas galardonados,
Intermediarios,
Ciempiés,
Políticos de salón,
Y nueve de cada diez estrellas, lo son.
The song "Ciudadano" by Joan Manuel Serrat portrays the struggles and frustrations of an anonymous and marginal citizen who is trying to survive in the hustle and bustle of the city. The opening lines set the tone of struggle, with the winds blowing against the citizen, who is left shaking with fear and uncertainty. The imagery of pockets shaking and the soul being laid bare emphasizes the citizen’s financial and emotional vulnerability. The second verse highlights the isolation of the citizen, who is essentially alone and has to deal with debts, illnesses, and the unknown. The chorus suggests that the citizen will have to deal with God alone, as there is no help for the individual in the city.
The third verse uses the image of bees' nests to describe the crowded and classified citizens, where everyone is consumed by the demands of speculators, politicians, and other opportunists. The reference to “comics” highlights the disconnection of the upper echelons of society, who may be entertaining but are out of touch with the average citizen because they know "little to nothing about anything." This portrayal of the city is bleak, with little hope for the individual citizen who is left to flounder in a cutthroat society. The lyrics are underscored by a haunting melody and poignant delivery.
Line by Line Meaning
Anónimos y desterrados
Unrecognized and exiled people
En el ruidoso tumulto callejero
In the noisy street chaos
Con los vientos en contra va el ciudadano,
The citizen goes against the opposition
Los bolsillos temblando y el alma en cueros.
Shivering pockets and bare soul
Rotos y desarraigados,
Broken and uprooted,
Hablando a gritos,
Shouting,
Golpeando los adjetivos precipitadamente,
Hitting adjectives hastily,
Asfixiados en los humos y en las gestiones,
Choked with smoke and bureaucracy,
Se cruzan y entrecruzan, sordos e indiferentes
Crossing and overlapping, deaf and indifferent
A salvo en sus caparazones.
Safe in their shells.
A quién le importarán
Who will care
Tus deudas y tus deudores
About your debts and creditors
O los achaques de tus mayores.
Or the aches of your seniors.
Así reviente el señor
Even though the gentleman explodes
De miedo y de soledad.
Out of fear and loneliness.
Con Dios, ciudadano,
With God, citizen,
Ya te apañarás.
You'll manage.
Y se amontonan y se hacinan
And they pile up and crowd
Encima, enfrente, abajo, detrás y al lado.
Above, in front, below, behind, and beside.
En amargas colmenas los clasifican,
They are classified into bitter beehives
Donde tan ignorantes como ignorados
Where people are as ignorant as they are ignored
Crecen y se multiplican,
Growing and multiplying
Para que siga especulando
So that speculation goes on
Con su trabajo, su agua, su aire y su calle
With their work, water, air and street
La gente encantadora... Los comediantes
The charming people... the comedians
Qué poco saben de nada, nada de nadie,
Who knows little about anything, and nothing about anyone,
Y son
And they are
Ciudadanos importantes.
Important citizens.
Hijos predilectos,
Favorite sons,
Científicos admirados,
Admired scientists,
Tiernos poetas galardonados,
Award-winning tender poets,
Intermediarios,
Intermediaries,
Ciempiés,
Centipedes,
Políticos de salón,
Parlor politicians,
Y nueve de cada diez estrellas, lo son.
And nine out of ten stars are one.
Contributed by Addison N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.