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®
De Cartón Piedra
Joan Manuel Serrat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Con la mirada lejana y azul
Que sonreía en un escaparate
Con la boquita menuda y granate,
Y unos zapatos de falso charol
Que chispeaban al roce del sol.
Limpia y bonita. Siempre iba a la moda.
Arregladita como pa' ir de boda.
Y yo, a todas horas la iba a ver
Porque yo amaba a esa mujer
De cartón piedra,
Que de San Esteban a Navidades,
Entre saldos y novedades,
Hacía más tierna mi acera.
No era como esas muñecas de abril
Que me arañaron de frente y perfil.
Que se comieron mi naranja a gajos.
Que me arrancaron la ilusión de cuajo,
Y con la presteza que da el alquiler,
Olvida el aire que respiró ayer
Y juega las cartas que le da el momento
Mañana es sólo un adverbio de tiempo.
No. Ella esperaba en su vitrina
Verme doblar aquella esquina
Como una novia.
Como un pajarillo, pidiéndome
Libérame, libérame
Y huyamos a escribir la historia.
De una pedrada me cargué el cristal
Y corrí, corrí con ella hasta mi portal.
Todo su cuerpo me tembló en los brazos.
Nos sonreía la luna de marzo.
Bajo la lluvia bailamos un vals,
Un, dos, tres, un, dos, tres, todo daba igual,
Y yo le hablaba de nuestro futuro,
Y ella lloraba en silencio, os lo juro!
Y entre cuatro paredes y un techo
Se reventó contra su pecho
Pena tras pena.
Tuve entre mis manos el universo
E hicimos del pasado un verso
Perdido dentro de un poema.
Y entonces, llegaron ellos
Me sacaron a empujones de mi casa
Y me encerraron entre estas cuatro paredes blancas,
Donde vienen a verme mis amigos
De mes en mes, de dos en dos y de seis a siete.
The song De Cartón Piedra by Joan Manuel Serrat tells the story of a man who falls in love with a mannequin dressed in glamorous clothing displayed in a storefront. The man describes the mannequin with admiration, noting the beauty of her distant blue eyes and small mouth. The mannequin is always dressed in the latest fashion, looking clean and polished, and the man visits her frequently, enamored with her charm. The man compares the mannequin to other women who have hurt him in the past, describing her as a safe haven from the heartbreak and disappointment that he has experienced before. Eventually, the man breaks the storefront window and takes the mannequin home, where they dance and dream of a future together. However, the man is eventually taken away by authorities, leaving him to ponder what could have been.
The lyrics of De Cartón Piedra draw upon poignant imagery to convey a sense of longing and hopelessness. The man's love for the mannequin symbolizes his search for love and acceptance in a world that often disappoints him. The mannequin represents a romanticized ideal, an escape from the problems and pain of reality. The song is a reflection on the power of illusion and the ways in which people use fantasy to cope with their struggles. Ultimately, the song suggests that even the most perfect illusions are temporary and that we must confront our problems head-on, no matter how difficult that task may be.
Line by Line Meaning
Era la gloria vestida de tul
Describes a woman in all her glory, dressed in a gown made of tul fabric.
Con la mirada lejana y azul
Her eyes are far away and blue, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.
Que sonreía en un escaparate
She is smiling from inside a store window display, like a mannequin.
Con la boquita menuda y granate
Her mouth is small and red, like a pout.
Y unos zapatos de falso charol
She's wearing fake patent leather shoes that glisten in the sun.
Que chispeaban al roce del sol.
The shoes emit sparks in the sunlight.
Limpia y bonita. Siempre iba a la moda.
She's always dressed clean, neat and trendy.
Arregladita como pa' ir de boda.
She's always dressed like she's going to a wedding.
Y yo, a todas horas la iba a ver
The singer has eyes for her and goes to see her at all hours.
Porque yo amaba a esa mujer
The singer was in love with that woman.
De cartón piedra,
The woman the singer describes is like a cardboard figure or a mannequin.
Que de San Esteban a Navidades,
She is available for viewing every day, from one event to the next.
Entre saldos y novedades,
She's in a retail store, surrounded by sales racks and new merchandise.
Hacía más tierna mi acera.
Seeing her every day made the street more tender or softer.
No era como esas muñecas de abril
The woman the singer was in love with is not like those dolls from April.
Que me arañaron de frente y perfil.
The past dolls scratched him from the front and the side.
Que se comieron mi naranja a gajos.
Those dolls consumed an entire orange fruit in a way that was wasteful and thoughtless.
Que me arrancaron la ilusión de cuajo,
The dolls took away all his hope and enthusiasm from the root.
Y con la presteza que da el alquiler,
Those dolls quickly left, as if they were mere renters.
Olvida el aire que respiró ayer
The dolls have already forgotten the air they breathed yesterday.
Y juega las cartas que le da el momento
They're playing cards that the moment gave them.
Mañana es sólo un adverbio de tiempo.
Tomorrow is just an adverb of time, meaning it's just a concept for describing time and not something tangible.
No. Ella esperaba en su vitrina
The cardboard woman waits for the singer in her showcase.
Verme doblar aquella esquina
She's waiting to see him turn the corner.
Como una novia.
She's waiting like a bride.
Como un pajarillo, pidiéndome
She's like a little bird, asking him.
Libérame, libérame
To free her, to free her.
Y huyamos a escribir la historia.
Together, they want to leave and write their own story.
De una pedrada me cargué el cristal
The singer threw a rock and broke the glass of her showcase.
Y corrí, corrí con ella hasta mi portal.
He ran away with the cardboard woman to his home.
Todo su cuerpo me tembló en los brazos.
Her whole body trembled in his arms.
Nos sonreía la luna de marzo.
The moon in March was smiling down on them.
Bajo la lluvia bailamos un vals,
They dance a waltz in the rain.
Un, dos, tres, un, dos, tres, todo daba igual,
One, two, three, one, two, three, everything was insignificant.
Y yo le hablaba de nuestro futuro,
The singer was talking about their future together.
Y ella lloraba en silencio, os lo juro!
The cardboard woman wept in silence, I swear!
Y entre cuatro paredes y un techo
They end up in his house, confined by four walls and a roof.
Se reventó contra su pecho
The cardboard woman shattered on his chest.
Pena tras pena.
Pain upon pain.
Tuve entre mis manos el universo
He felt like he held the universe in his hands.
E hicimos del pasado un verso
Together they turned the past into a verse or poetry.
Perdido dentro de un poema.
Lost within a poem.
Y entonces, llegaron ellos
Finally, they arrived.
Me sacaron a empujones de mi casa
He was pushed out of his house by them.
Y me encerraron entre estas cuatro paredes blancas,
He was locked up in a white room with four walls.
Donde vienen a verme mis amigos
His friends come to visit him there.
De mes en mes, de dos en dos y de seis a siete.
They visit him less frequently as time goes on, only every few months, in pairs, and at specific times.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JUAN MANUEL SERRAT TERESA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@alejandracarovisich9570
Cuántas veces, sin llevar esa cuota de locura, nos enamoramos de una ilusión! De personas que terminan siendo de "cartón piedra".... Que viven dentro de un escaparate imaginario...Vemos aveces, lo que queremos ver y lo que deseamos creer...hasta que nos damos con las 4 paredes de realidad...🤷 Increíble letra! Serrat...cómo siempre! Maravilloso!
@alejandroanibala1227
Fuerte comentario... por cobardía siento que fui "de cartón piedra"...
@alejandracarovisich9570
Lo bueno, y lo rescatable, es verlo y darse cuenta. Hacerse cargo es un inicio. Y remendarlo...no lo hace cualquiera. Hay que tomar valentía y reparar los daños. Suerte amigo! 🙏
@DiegoMartinez-vb7xp
conocen la historia en que se basó para escribir la canción?
@jomagoto
Seria excelente que nos la contaras! yo la desconozco @@DiegoMartinez-vb7xp
@margaritapujolmolla5725
Creo que si en televisión un día lo comentaron que cada día iva ver un maniqui vestida de novia y decía que era su novia la novia del chico que iva cada día ver esta novia del escaparate se murió el día que se iva a casar y el chico quedó tocado y cada día iva verla en el escaparate asta que le dijeron que no podía estar allí , porque ell chico estaba ya muy mal, una historia muy triste
@margaritaramirez9920
Siempre he amado su música, nadie como él, en ésta canción me dolió el corazón la primera vez que la escuché, tengo 72 años y sigo sintiendo lo mismo.
Dios te bendiga por todas tus canciones, TODAS 🙏🙏🙏
@DiegoMartinez-vb7xp
sr. escuche la historia: el eterno enamorado. en la cual se baso la cancion
@amadamolina6972
@@DiegoMartinez-vb7xpEsa es mi ma gran mentira, la canción fué mucho antes
@pv0309m
De cartón piedra es la historia de un amor imposible que nos habla del amor real, donde tantas dimensiones convergen como la pasión, obsesión, intimidad, fragilidad, control y destrucción en una tragedia que se repite día a día. En pocas palabras la letra me ha hecho pensar en el significado del amor y la posible diferencia entre amar y enloquecer de amor.