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 Vez En Cuando La Vida
Joan Manuel Serrat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nos besa en la boca
Y a colores se despliega como un atlas
Nos pasea por las calles en volandas
Y los sentidos en buenas manos
Se hace de nuestra medida
Toma nuestro paso
Y saca un conejo de la vieja chistera
Y uno es feliz como un niño
Cuando sale de la escuela
De vez en cuando la vida
Toma conmigo café
Y esta tan bonita que da gusto verla
Se suelta el pelo y me invita
A salir con ella a escena
De vez en cuando la vida
Se nos brinda en cueros
Y nos regala un sueño tan escurridizo
Que hay que andarlo de puntillas
Por no romper el hechizo
De vez en cuando la vida
Afina con el pincel
Se nos eriza la piel, y faltan palabras
Para nombrar lo que ofrecen
A los que saben usarla
De vez en cuando la vida
Nos gasta una broma
Y nos despertamos sin saber qué pasa
Chupando un pavo sentado
Sobre una calabaza
“De vez en cuando la vida” is a beautiful song by Joan Manuel Serrat that describes the moments when life unfolds before us in different ways. The song starts with the line “De vez en cuando la vida nos besa en la boca”, which talks about those moments when life seems to give us a kiss, when we feel that we are in the right place, at the right time, and everything is just perfect. Serrat then explains how life takes us for a walk, and our senses are in good hands. We are taken to the streets, and everything seems pleasant and colorful.
Serrat further explains how life fits us perfectly, takes our rhythm, and pulls a rabbit out of an old hat, which makes us happy like a child when they leave school. The line “De vez en cuando la vida toma conmigo café, y esta tan bonita que da gusto verla” talks about how life surprises us sometimes by sitting us down for coffee and looking so stunningly beautiful that it's a joy to see. Life lets down its hair and invites us to join it; it's like an invite to be the lead role on the stage.
The song portrays how sometimes life gives us a priceless gift, and we should handle it with care, like walking on tiptoes so as not to break the spell. The song also shows how sometimes life plays a joke on us, and we wake up confused, sucking on a turkey, sitting on a pumpkin. Therefore, Joan Manuel Serrat takes us on a journey with this song, helping us appreciate and understand the different shades of life and how to cherish them.
Line by Line Meaning
De vez en cuando la vida
Sometimes life
Nos besa en la boca
kisses us on the mouth
Y a colores se despliega como un atlas
and unfolds in colors like an atlas
Nos pasea por las calles en volandas
carries us through the streets as if flying
Y los sentidos en buenas manos
and our senses are in good hands
Se hace de nuestra medida
It fits us perfectly
Toma nuestro paso
It matches our rhythm
Y saca un conejo de la vieja chistera
and pulls a rabbit out of the old top hat
Y uno es feliz como un niño
and we are as happy as a child
Cuando sale de la escuela
when they leave school
Toma conmigo café
Has coffee with me
Y esta tan bonita que da gusto verla
and is so beautiful, it's a pleasure to see her
Se suelta el pelo y me invita
She lets her hair down and invites me
A salir con ella a escena
to go out on the stage with her
Se nos brinda en cueros
It presents itself to us naked
Y nos regala un sueño tan escurridizo
and gives us a dream so elusive
Que hay que andarlo de puntillas
that we must tiptoe around it
Por no romper el hechizo
so as not to break the spell
Afina con el pincel
Paints with precision
Se nos eriza la piel, y faltan palabras
our skin tingles, and words fail us
Para nombrar lo que ofrecen
to describe what they offer
A los que saben usarla
to those who know how to use it
Nos gasta una broma
plays a joke on us
Y nos despertamos sin saber qué pasa
and we wake up not knowing what happened
Chupando un pavo sentado
sucking on a turkey while sitting
Sobre una calabaza
on top of a pumpkin
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Juan Manuel Serrat
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@maricarmenmarcebotifoll3671
Te limpia el alma !!!! A veces tengo ganas de llorar , a mis 67 años , hay cosas qué fallan y se te encogen las tripas , pero ya no puedo llorar ...entonces cojo mis auriculares escucho una de sus canciones y lloro ...para mí , es una terapia ....gracias Juan
@jaggietube
“Te limpia el alma” ¡Qué hermosa forma de expresar lo que Serrat lleva transmitiendo toda su vida para contribuir a un mundo mejor con su inmenso talento.
@maricarmenmarcebotifoll3671
@@jaggietube gracias ☺️ buenos días Javier
@stellamarisponce6071
Me encanta este cantautor es maravilloso ! Serrat de la mano de Antonio Machado , un gran cantante ! De vez en cuando la vida .... Excelente tema ❤️❤️❤️
@MrFerbye
Te hace bien llorar, es una limpieza, y cuando de vez en cuando hay una alegria como dice la canción uno llora también
@maricarmenmarcebotifoll3671
@@MrFerbye Gracias ☺️ un saludo
@aureliaserrano6923
Hay cantantes que se oyen con los ojos cerrados , pero el corazón y el alma abiertos. Este es uno de los pocos que merecen ese sitial
@santiago-qf1rs
muy bellas palabras para definir a semejante poeta Aurelia, saludos
@armandogonzalez-pb8kw
@@santiago-qf1rs, opino exactamente lo mismo.
@santiago-qf1rs
@@armandogonzalez-pb8kw un abrazo armando...seguro que somos de esa misma generacion no.? Valoramos y admiramos a esos GRANDES DE LA POESIA..LA CANCION.!!! Un saludo calido a vos